A truck driver drove his burning trailer unit away from fuel pumps when it caught fire while he was filling up at a petrol station in Blenheim late on Monday night.
The driver noticed smoke, got back into the cab and drove away from the BP truck fuel station to a nearby street, Fairfax reports.
Blenheim fire chief, Nigel Botham, said the driver disconnected the front of the truck from the trailer to stop the front catching fire too, and started fighting the fire with his on-board fire extinguisher.
The trailer unit was totally engulfed in fire when four fire trucks arrived at the scene after being called at 11.40pm, Mr Botham said.
Nearby resident Francine Taoho, who captured dramatic video of the blaze, said she woke to a loud "bang" and seeing something like that happen right outside her door was a bit scary.
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