Barking dog wakes two men during Gisborne house fire

Fire and Emergency New Zealand specialist fire investigators went to a Gisborne home in Abbott St on Wednesday to commence an inquiry into how a fire started. Photo / Murray Robertson

Two Gisborne men at a house on Abbott St, Te Hapara, have their dog to thank for waking them as a fire started in their home early on Wednesday morning.

Fire and Emergency NZ sent crews to the house just before 4.30am.

“The two adult males in the house were woken by their dog,” a senior firefighter said.

“One of them told us he wasn’t sure what was happening initially, but then he smelt smoke and saw the fire starting.

“They attempted to hold it with a garden hose but it was beyond them.”

The men had been carrying out renovations on the property, and the smoke alarms were not in place.

“It was lucky for them the dog’s barking woke them.

“The fire appeared to have started on the floor around some electrical components and spread up into the ceiling void.”

“It caused substantial damage to the ceiling area, also the kitchen and lounge, and one bedroom.”

Police maintained a scene guard at the property until a specialist fire investigator was called in on Wednesday.

Investigators found the cause of the fire was accidental.

“We believe it was the result of some sort of electrical fault,” a fire investigator said.

A barking dog roused two men from their slumbers at a house in Abbott St, Te Hapara, early on Wednesday morning, just as a fire was starting in their home. Photo / Murray Robertson

“It’s not being treated as suspicious.”

The two men living in the home have had to seek accommodation elsewhere.

It was the third fire incident in Abbott St in less than two weeks.

The first two were at one property. The second fire is being treated as arson and remains under police investigation.