The Kawakawa Volunteer Fire Brigade was called out to an "unnecessary" rubbish fire without a permit, prompting them to disinfect their entire truck, themselves and throw away their masks.
In a post on Facebook, the brigade said they were called to a rubbish fire in Moerewa, Northland, last night about 8pm.
On arriving it became clear the person burning the rubbish did not have a permit - Northland is currently in a restricted fire period, with permits required for all fires.
"Owing to our new protocols, we went out with extra PPE on, and on return had to disinfect our truck, throw away the disposable PPE we'd used, then clean ourselves," they wrote.
"If it's not necessary, or could be dealt with in a more appropriate way (ie. get a permit), please don't do it, or do it in the right way.
"The less unnecessary call-outs we get during this lockdown period, the less risk to us and our families."
SHARE ME