FIREMEN BURN HOME

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 6, Issue 275, 21 February 1989, Page 16

FIREMEN BURN HOME

There were plenty of Ohakune volunteer firemen at last week's practice to put out an unexpected blaze, but the blaze that flared was not of the type they were used to dealing with. At the practice, Fire Chief Max Martin was helping out with the placement of a water pump in the Mangawhero Stream, near the old Power Board depot. It was too far for the hose to pass so, he jumped down the bank of grass and landed on his favourite insect species - a nest of Waimarino wasps. The ensuing inferno, the result of 65 or so wasp stings out of the masses that covered him, could not be doused by his fellow volunteers as they have no equipment for such disasters, and in fact a number of other firemen suffered a similar fate. Still, the wasps ended up worse off - the firemen bumed down their house! Revenge is sweet. (Passing on that story is playing with fire, wouldn't you say?) Stop press! we've just heard a bit more of the story. Volunteer fire fighter Caroline Giles was soon after the incident, very helpfully pulling out the wasp stings from the intrepid leader's legs. BUT WASPS DON'T LEAVE THEIR STINGS BEHIND! (Believe it! or Not!!!!) (The number of people that have asked Gossip to report on this story really makes you wonder about the chances for a future for the human race - Gossip) Another fire sale story - Caroline Giles again gives us something to write about. She got up

at 4am recently and raced to the fire station, but there'd been no siren sounded. What a nightmare!