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Family loses the lot
Monday, November 26, 2012 • Sophie Rishworth and Murray Robertson
A BARKING dog helped to avoid a “catastrophic event” when a house caught fire in Gisborne last night.

The family were able to get out safely but had no insurance and have lost everything.

Fireworks are believed to be the cause.

The wooden home on the corner of Darwin Road and Hacche Road had no smoke alarms and was completely destroyed after fire broke out just before 10pm.

A 39-year-old mother, her six year-old son and 19-year-old nephew were lucky to escape with their lives after the dog woke them up.

It helped avoid what could have been a “catastrophic event”, said fire safety officer Derek Goodwin.

The rented home was burned to the ground.

This morning, as the shock set in, after a night of no sleep, it was the loss of her photos and her daughter’s medals and certificates for national and international sporting achievements that were the hardest to bear.

There was Christmas shopping in the wardrobe and she had just started to spring-clean her home for the holiday season, she said.

The mother said she had lived in the house for six years.

The family had celebrated her daughter’s 21st birthday party on Saturday night.

Her nephew travelled from Wellington for the party and was staying with the family.

Fireworks left over from the 21st were let off at the house about 5.30 last night.

The family then had dinner and settled in for the night to watch The Incredibles on TV.

It was fortunate they fell asleep in the lounge, as the two-storey house had no fire escapes, she said.

“If we were upstairs, we wouldn’t have been able to get downstairs. It must have taken ages for the fireworks to smoulder.”

They were woken by the dog barking just before 10pm but by that time the whole kitchen and deck were in flames.

There was only time to grab her cellphone to dial 111 as she made sure her son and nephew were safely outside.

The fire service received multiple 111 calls. It took just six minutes for the first fire truck to arrive . . . although to the occupants it seemed more like half an hour.

Senior station officer Bernie Bull said they could see the orange glow from the fire as they turned into Darwin Road.

“When we got there the house was totally involved. The entire house was engulfed in flames shooting 20 to 25 metres into the air.”

Mr Bull said once they had made sure everyone was out of the house, they made a conscious decision to concentrate on saving a nearby shed and to stop the flames from getting a hold in surrounding vegetation, which included large pines trees.

“The fire was spreading into the trees when we arrived and we were able to stop it going any further,” he said.

Firemen also moved the woman’s vehicle away from the fire.

At one point preparations were made to evacuate neighbouring homes.

Water was an issue for firemen and they tapped into the last fire hydrant on Darwin Road, about 300 metres away from the scene of the fire, to provide the water they needed.

The fire drew a full-scale response, with four pumping appliances, three water tankers, a hose layer and command unit, plus rural fire units involved.

Mr Bull said the fire service was there until about 3.30 this morning finishing off the dampening down, and were back again about 9am this morning.
EVERYTHING GONE: It is another classic example of why you can’t do without smoke alarms, said fire safety officer Derek Goodwin. A dog’s incessant barking alerted a family that their Hacche Road home, off Darwin Road, was on fire last night and gave them just enough time to get outside safely. Picture by Murray Robertson
Comments
Tracy Amos
02:08 p.m. Monday, Nov 26, 2012
What a terrible thing to have happened! Smoke alarms do save lives, as do dogs barking!
john donnelly
01:22 p.m. Tuesday, Nov 27, 2012
How many times in the past few months have I read about house fires and the occupants having no insurance? Surely everyone should be able to afford household contents insurance just to cover the basics? Landlords should make it compulsory prior to renting out their homes.
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