Te Puke fire destroys kitchen

Firefighters had to smash their way into a Te Puke home  to fight a blaze that destroyed the kitchen yesterday.
Fire chief Glenn Williams said the fire was blocking the back door of the three-bedroom house so firefighters had to smash their way inside through the deadlocked front door.
A man, estimated to be in his 40s,  was alone at the house and told firefighters he had been cooking something on the stove when the fire broke out about 2.40pm.
Mr Williams said he understood the man had been mowing, or preparing to mow, his lawn.
Firefighters called an ambulance to the property and the man was taken to Tauranga Hospital to be treated for  smoke inhalation.
 Two children returned to the Dunlop Rd property to find firefighters and police at their home and the kitchen blackened and scorched by fire.
Mr Williams said the fire destroyed the kitchen and caused smoke damage to the rest of the house.
"There were flames dancing on the kitchen ceiling like it was about to flash over ," he said.
Some of the ceiling in the kitchen had to be removed and firefighters spent time dampening down smouldering patches.
"The kitchen will have to be rebuilt because all the ceiling had to be pulled down to get to the fire in the roof space," Mr Williams said.