an hour.

A private car was completely destroyed by a fire caused by an electrical fault at the PTB Bus Garage.

One truck and five firefighters responded to a call at 8.05 p.m. on Thursday.

At 7.09 p.m. another crew went to a pole fire on North Shore near the Anchorage Bar.

A Fire Service spokesman said that high salt-laden winds from the north often "filled the air'' in the winter and caused problems for the sensitive equipment.

He said: "Its the salt. Whenever we get a little wind coming across the North Shore it messes up the electrical poles.

"A few pieces from the transformer dropped down to the ground and caused a brush fire and we dealt with that and Belco arrived,'' he added.