Fire fighters had to wait for a gas bottle to vent out while fighting a horse float fire in Oropi last night.

The float and accommodation section was removed from its truck chassis earlier, says Greerton station officer Nigel Liddicoat.

Photo: File.

'They had cut it off with a gas axe earlier on yesterday, so we assume it was probably some molten metal from the gas cutting that set it alight,” says Nigel.

'When we got there it was fully involved. There were two LPG cylinders in the float. One of them wasn't affected - it was in a box up the front but the other one started venting.

'So we had to call from a distance. We were able to let the cylinder burn itself out.”

The float was around five metres by two, with a fridge and kitchenette in the front and a bed over the cab.

'I think it was bolted down to the truck,” adds Nigel. 'I'm not sure why they had taken it off, whether they were going to sell it, or whether the truck needed work.”

'The undamaged truck cab and chassis was further over in the paddock.”

Fire trucks from Greerton and Tauranga attended along with a rural tanker. They were called out to the Oropi Road property at 8.41pm.

'We saw it as we came up the hill, but once you actually got to the gateway you couldn't see it,” says Nigel. 'It was stuck in behind the shed.”