An Auckland couple say their dogs saved their lives after a fireworks accident saw flames erupt outside their window.
When Leda Taylor was woken by her barking dogs on Wednesday night, she looked out the window and saw the hedge down the side of her house was on fire.
"I freaked out and called 111 straight away, and took a quick video as soon as we were getting the dogs out of the house," Taylor told Newshub.
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Her and partner Camille say it was caused by a fireworks accident on the neighbouring driveway.
It's prompted the pair to call for a ban on private use, saying people simply aren't getting the message.
"[It's] crazy they wouldn't even check if anyone was in the house or anything - I mean, our lives were at stake here," Camille said.
It's not the first serious incident involving fireworks in recent days. This week has already seen large fires on both Mt Eden and Mt Wellington.
"People don't seem to be heeding the message about weather conditions," said Peter Gallagher, national advisor of fire risk management at Fire and Emergency New Zealand.
But despite what seems like more fires every day - there'll be no ban. However, the Auckland Council will make a submission to parliament next week asking for the private sale of fireworks to be banned.
Despite that, it's unlikely to happen, as the government says it has no plans to change the rules.
Taylor said she only filmed the video after calling 111 while leaving the house.
If it wasn't for the dogs, things could have been much worse.
"They're [the dogs] the best - our lives revolve around them," Taylor said.
Newshub.
