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A fire that destroyed a Dunedin home and caused nearby homes to be evacuated may have been ignited by embers from a neighbor’s fire pit.
About 25 people and their pets were evacuated from a dozen homes after the house on Beaconsfield Rd, near the Otago port, caught fire at around 4:30 p.m. Saturday.
Fire investigator Marty Jillings said Things embers from a fire pit was one of the “possible ignition sources” under investigation. The fire was not suspicious, he said.
Paul Le Comte / Supplied
It is believed that the family that lived in the house lost everything.
“Strong winds transferred embers from the main fire to five other locations around the Portobello area, the furthest being estimated 200 meters from the fire.”
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Neighbors helped firefighters extinguish five bulbs near the property, Jillings said.
The owner of the home, Heather Morris, said she believed the fire had passed from the fire pit under some large macrocarpa trees at the edge of her yard and directly into a workshop on her property, which was rented by a couple and his three children.
“He just took it off and went straight home. [The tenant] I just had to run and I didn’t even have shoes on it was so fast. “
Paul Le Comte / Supplied
Fire crews battled the blaze Saturday night, but the property was largely destroyed.
Morris’s husband, Warren Morris, kept his boat, car, trailers, and tools on the property, all of which were destroyed in the fire.
“I am absolutely devastated,” Morris said.
“You walk and look out the windows and there’s nothing there.”
She said the fire jumped on the neighbor’s property and then went behind the house where she lived and reached another neighbor’s property, burning a nearby bush.
Morris believed that it was “irresponsible” of the people who had the fire pit not to put it out due to high winds, and said its tenants had lost “everything.”
“We have a fantastic little community and everyone is together and makes sure they have a place to stay, clothes and things for the kids.
“We have been inundated with phone calls, messages and food. The community is really wonderful. “
She was grateful for the “wonderful work” of the firefighters, who said they saved many other houses from destruction.
Jillings urged anyone considering having a fire on their property to check the weather conditions, especially high winds.
Paul Le Comte / Supplied
Neighbors joined firefighters in their efforts to extinguish the fires.
