It was more than his pie that was hot, for a man who stopped off at Sims Bakery.
About 11.20am on Thursday last week, the man’s ute was parked on State Highway 1 outside the Tinwald bakery.
The man had gone to buy a meat pie. Coming out of the bakery, he saw his car on fire.
An eyewitness report suggests the pie then became comfort food.
‘‘He was eating his pie while he was waiting for the fire brigade to turn up,’’ a bakery staff member said.
‘‘He seemed okay.’’
Ashburton Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Alan Burgess said the cause could not be confirmed, although it was suspected to be a bird’s nest.
‘‘It’s that time of year again,’’ Burgess said.
Discussions with the ute owner, from the Ashburton area, revealed he lived in a rural area.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze, which destroyed the car. Flames had damaged the front, including inside the cab. Tools in the back of the ute were saved.
Police arrived at the scene shortly before firefighters, and briefly closed the highway, creating a one-block diversion around McMurdo St.
Other calls responded to by the brigade included a small grass fire in a backyard on Saturday about 4pm. The fire started as a person was mowing the lawn, caused by a spark from hitting a stone.
