The actions of a junior carver attempting to finish a carved tree stump flanking the Gate Pa Reserve Site have disappointed project managers after they sparked a fire call-out.

Greerton Fire Brigade was called to Gate Pa Reserve Site just about 6pm Wednesday after reports the tree stump closest to the road was on fire.

Part of the carving being worked on.

The junior carver was charring off wood in an effort to finish his carving as part of the refurbishment of the memorial site built for the Battle of Gate Pa's 150 year commemorations.

Piri Kohu, who is in charge of the carvings, says the carver was not meant to be working on the carvings without permission or guidance from Piri, or other senior carvers.

'We're going to express our disappointment with his spontaneous behaviour,” says Piri.

'There was no-one managing the work, I wasn't there, the other artists who worked on that piece weren't there, certainly the influence on that work wasn't there. So that's caused a bit of friction, but…it's not an arm or a leg.”

While he is disappointed with the carver's actions, Piri is impressed with his work so far.

'We're disappointed in his behaviour, but we're moving on. If you have a look at his work it still looks great.

'He has coloured it [the carving] with a deliberate fire and that it has been a very well controlled fire it's not a willy-nilly fire that burns up parts of the carving it has put a rather distinctive finish on it and we're okay with that.”

Piri says carvers will return to the site after the next financial year in June to finish the project.

'The next phase is quite extensive, but it will be a controlled effort, a managed effort, the next phase may not even include him.”

But this is not because of this incident, says Piri, who believes the next phase should be left up to the senior carvers.

'He is a learner. We had him working under the influence of experienced carvers.”