Fairlie firefighters unsuccessfully try to shoot down a road cone on top of a tree with hoses.

How do you get a roadcone down from a 50-metre high tree?

Firefighters in a small South Canterbury town drew plenty of laughs as, in typical Kiwi style, they tried to blast the roadcone off its new perch with a high-pressure hose.

Residents of Fairlie could barely believe their eyes on Tuesday morning as they spotted the 50-metre high Spruce tree beside the clock on the village green sporting a new rubbery crown.

CHRIS HYDE/FAIRFAX NZ Fairlie residents are stumped after the town's tallest tree, a 50m-high spruce, was adorned with a rubbery crown.

The council suggested an arborist, perhaps a crane.

Fairlie firefighters Wayne Dixon, Marcus Dixon, Mike Donnelly and Jeff Haugh had other ideas.

A video posted to Facebook by Mary Anne Ward shows just how close the ultimately unsuccessful attempt was.

"We actually hit it," Dixon said.

"It was a close thing but by the time we got our aim right the pump had heated up and we just lost that little bit of pressure.

"Roadcones are actually quite heavy and they don't budge easily so we just needed a bit more pressure and a bit more accuracy from our wee hose."

Dixon said the roadcone was the talk of the town and the fire crew were now the "laugh of the town".

"We were the brunt of a few jokes at the pub that's for sure.

"Everyone wants to know how it got up there in the first place. There's plenty of stories floating around and it will all come out in the wash I'm sure."

He said the fire service were now plotting a few other options to give them more height including hiring a telescopic handler with a man cage or asking Timaru for their snorkel fire truck.

"I doubt they'll want to send it up from Timaru just to knock off a roadcone but you never know," Dixon said.

"Someone has offered to shoot it off but that's definitely not a good idea."

Mackenzie District Council community facilities manager Garth Nixon said the cone was sitting so high on such a skinny branch that it was a public safety hazard in any sort of wind.

"It's actually a real pain because it could easily come off and if it comes off it could end up in the middle of the road."

Nixon had a message for potential roadcone copy-cats: Please refrain.

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