Gisborne home ‘seconds away’ from serious house fire

A Wainui home could have been "seconds away" from a much larger fire had a resident not coincidentally arrived home, according to fire fighters.

A return home at just the right moment potentially prevented a much larger house fire for a resident at a house in Wainui on Sunday morning.

They arrived back in their home to find a fire starting alongside the fireplace.

Fire and Emergency NZ got a 111 call about the incident at around 9.50am.

“The people in the Oneroa Rd home had gone out to watch the All Blacks game at another place, but fortunately one of them came back,” a senior firefighter said.

“That person found a small fire starting in the lounge area around their free-standing fire.

“It was starting to scorch the wall boards surrounding the fire box.”

“The resident was able to tackle the fire, and it was out before we arrived.

Fire & Emergency responded to the incident with two appliances and a tanker.

“We are still looking into exactly how it got started,” the senior firefighter said.

“But fair to say it was a timely return home, and a timely reminder about the metre-heater rule.

“Keep anything combustible well away from any heat source.”

The senior firefighter said the damage caused was fortunately “fairly superficial”.

“It was, however, only seconds away from being a serious house fire.”

The fire crews used thermal imaging equipment to ensure the fire was out.