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Residents of Lake Ōhau say they may have been unnecessarily delayed to return to the village due to problems with the demolition.
The frame is all that remains of this Lake Ōhau Village home.
Photo: Supplied
About half of the properties in the village were destroyed or damaged when a fire raged earlier this month.
The Waitaki district council told residents yesterday that some will be allowed to return to their habitable properties on November 9 if it is safe.
Dave Honeyfield, who was destined to retire at Lake Ōhau. Instead, the owner of the long-term vacation home was left sifting through the ashes of an apartment, a bedroom and two houses, one built less than two years ago.
He couldn’t recognize anything until he saw a DVD in the rubble, it was from his father’s funeral.
“Well I cleaned it, this DVD. It’s been through a massive fire. I cleaned it, put it on when I got home and it worked perfectly. There you go. That was the only thing I found.”
He was concerned about the way insurers have obtained demolition quotes.
On Wednesday, her insurer told Honeyfield she could go get her own quote, weeks after the fire.
“As far as I’m concerned I want the cheapest quote because it’s going to cost me. Basically what I want to do is have these things safely removed and put in the right place, so I went and got my own quote “. he said.
“Well three weeks ago he could have had a listing and he could have been negotiating with the local guys.”
He just wanted to clean up the site so he could work on his next step.
The Barn at Killin B&B co-owner Hugh Spiers said several residents raised concerns about the demolition during Zoom’s meeting yesterday with the Waitaki District Council.
He wondered if the residents could have moved in before November 9.
“There is still a lot of rubble in the village … it has just come to light that some of the insurance companies are making it the responsibility of the owners to clean up the rubble.
“It must be very, very frustrating for the permanent residents that the houses have not been affected but that they cannot move to the village due to this robbery,” Spiers said.
The remains of a property scattered on the ground after a fire devastated the village of Lake Ōhau.
Photo: Supplied
Your insurance company arranged for your property to be completely cleared; He said it looked like an ice skating rink now.
“Can you imagine the frustration if you have a vacation home here on Lake Ōhau and are planning to come and fix it at Christmas? Well that’s a bit impossible because you can’t have this half iron burned house still fluttering in the breeze and ashes and charred remains. Not really good. “
But before the debris was cleaned up, he and his partner returned with sieves and shovels to search the wreckage for belongings, and found that demolition crews had cut it open like a large can to make sure it was safe.
“The heat was so intense. There is just nothing. Broken plates, some recognizable trinkets but everything is chipped, broken, burned. That was a really tough day. But these guys have come now. They left us time, time to heal and then they came and swept everything up and took the debris away, “Spiers said.
“Now we have a clean palate that we are quite excited about.”
He hoped to speak with his project managers next week, but they planned to return to the village when they could.
The Waitaki District Council held an informational session this afternoon for residents, with input from Environment Canterbury and the Insurance Council.
For the recovery manager, Lichelle Guyan, the meeting was an opportunity to clear things up and answer questions.
“For people to understand the insurance process and why we need to be careful when removing materials from the site and for them to understand what they can and cannot do in relation to their own insurance,” Guyan said.
Eight properties have been demolished so far, six are in the works and a large number are expected to be cleared in the coming weeks.
The council would consider extending the transition period by a few weeks, giving it powers to close the road or make another decision necessary to keep people safe, he said.
The Insurance Council’s insurance manager, John Lucas, said insurers were happy that residents were getting their own quotes, but it might be easier for them to do so.
A house ravaged by fire in Lake Ōhau Village.
Photo: Supplied
“Most people want the insurer to handle their claims from start to finish because it’s quite stressful. It’s like building a house, but you’re dealing with more than that, you’re dealing with the requirements set by environmental standards for demolition. . and safe disposal of waste products, “Lucas said.
The demolition costs came out of the insured sum, the amount that residents nominated when they insured their property, he said.
In terms of pricing, the Insurance Board recommended that people allow a minimum of $ 20,000 for demolition.
Some Lake Ōhau residents are expected to return to their homes undamaged in less than two weeks.
Tower Insurance’s director of claims and service, Jane Hardy, said the company had so far received five claims for total losses and four for partial damages, and expected the cost to be between $ 5 million and $ 7 million.
“Our thoughts are with everyone affected by the Lake Ōhau fires and we have a dedicated claims manager who takes care of our clients with a focus on fixing things as quickly as possible,” Hardy said.
“Tower’s policies provide full replacement for the fires and as part of this all demolition costs are covered by Tower. After the fires our team on the ground assessed the damage and we have already completed the demolition for all. our customers at total losses. “
Vero’s chief executive officer, Campbell Mitchell, said 16 complaints related to the fire had been received and half had already been resolved.
“Four claims are what we call total loss claims where the entire house will need to be rebuilt. All but one have already been demolished, and we are working on the design and consent so that the rebuilding can begin as soon as possible. The other claim has been settled in cash at the clients’ request, “Mitchell said.
“We are in very close contact with the government and local authorities and we work collaboratively with them, but we put the needs of our clients first and work to ensure that collaboration or the needs of the community do not unduly delay their claims. “.
FMG spokesman Nathan Barrett confirmed that so far 17 claims had been received involving 30 insured items damaged by customers affected by the fire.
“We immediately had one of our own insurance consultants in Lake Ōhau after the fires and our focus was to proactively contact our clients to verify their well-being,” said Barrett.
“We are making progress on repairs and / or settlements including demolition, as quickly as possible. We are also working with our clients to understand the best outcome of the agreement for them and their families. In addition, we are working proactively with the Council of New Zealand Insurance and the Waitaki District Council. “
