Gunnedah fire stopped by firies on O'Keefe Avenue

The blaze, suspected to have been started by a camp cooking fire, was called in by a passing resident at about 1.45pm. Gunnible Rural Fire Service (RFS) and Gunnedah Fire and Rescue both responded to the call very quickly.

Gunnedah police were also on scene as part of Strike Force Tronto, which sees police investigate all fires during the bushfire danger period, no matter how big or small.

Fire crews said they found drug paraphernalia inside a small "shack" near the fire, but this was unconfirmed by Gunnedah police.

No-one was near the building or the area when the firies arrived.

Read also:

Gunnible RFS member Geoff Hood was on the scene, and said the crews stopped it after it had burnt about half a hectare.

"In these conditions it could've just taken off," he said.

Liverpool Range RFS Martin Mooney said the fire could have been much worse if crews didn't respond as fast as they did.

"The potential was there for it to get worse than it was but the quick response by the crews prevented it from being a bigger," Mr Mooney said.

"They've got around the edge of it so it's been contained."

Mr Mooney issued a strong warning to those using outdoor cooking equipment.

"Care should be taken with things like that and people need to make sure they have a cleared area, are mindful and stay with the fire, even when it's just for cooking purposes," he said.

Investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.