A fire on Saturday afternoon which extensively damaged a garage and workshop in Weston is believed to have been started by a spark from welding equipment.
The Weston Volunteer Fire Brigade had done a siren test just five minutes before they went off for real at 12.07pm on Saturday.
Chief Fire Officer Bevan Koppert said the two-bay garage and workshop building fire in Baker St was well alight when the fire service arrived.
''The gentleman had been doing some welding and had gone inside for lunch,'' Mr Koppert said.
No-one was in the garage at the time and the call to the fire service came from a neighbour.
Mr Koppert did not expect anything would be salvaged from the garage or workshop.
The Weston Volunteer Fire Brigade was assisted by an Oamaru unit. They spent about 45 minutes bringing the fire under control.
There was some damage to a neighboring fence and shed.
Mr Koppert said the fire, and its speed, came as ''quite a shock'' to the owners of the property.
