Wanaka home fires: residents flee burning homes

About a dozen people, including several children, fled two burning houses in Wanaka yesterday when firefighters rushed to the scene.

Property owner Kylie Stewart said it quickly became clear that her home had no time to waste.

Faced with the horror of waking up to the fire just before 4 a.m., she and her partner yelled at the children to get out of their Totara Tce home.

“We literally had a few seconds,” he said.

“Even a minute later it would have been too late.”

She was the owner of the neighboring house, the occupants of which were related to her, and which also caught fire.

Everyone from both houses got out on time, but Batman the hunting dog got lost.

One house and two cars were destroyed and the damage to the other house was significant. Both houses were insured.

On-site medical treatment was needed for three people, said St John spokesman Gerard Campbell.

Fire crews from Wanaka, Lake Hawea, Alexandra and Luggate put out the blaze.

A shocked Miss Stewart told the Otago Daily Times yesterday afternoon that she was relieved everyone had made it out alive.

The fire put the importance of family in perspective, he said.

“Make sure they are the first thought every day.”

The families had received incredible support from the community, including the Wanaka Skate Club and the Cheapskates Wanaka retail store, he said.

Fire researcher John Smalls said the heat from the fire could have approached 1000 ° C.
It had certainly exceeded the melting point of aluminum, 660.3 ° C.

Today he would conduct interviews and another researcher would help him tomorrow.

Wanaka firefighter Tony Wellman said the house Miss Stewart lived in was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived.

The house had been built with modern materials and they burned quickly, he said.

The other house had also burned down and firefighters had to make sure that no one was in any of them.

Wanaka’s wife, Tawna Woods, had a daughter who was staying there with the boy’s father.

He has created a Givealittle page to raise funds for the family.

His daughter had lost half of her belongings, he said.

Neighbors had provided clothing for relatives who had fled their homes.

Over $ 1000 had been given through the Givealittle page as of last night.