Investigation into fire after Pātūtahi home destroyed

Fire crews from Pātūtahi, Te Karaka and Gisborne responded to a house fire in Judd Rd at Pātūtahi. Photo / Pātūtahi Volunteer Fire Brigade

The cause of a fire that consumed a house “end-to-end” at Pātūtahi, near Gisborne, on Friday night remains under investigation.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received the first 111 calls about the incident on Judd Road at about 6.30pm.

Crews from Pātūtahi, Te Karaka, and Gisborne responded.

“The home was fully involved in fire when the first crew arrived,” a senior firefighter said

“The house was burning end-to-end when the first crew arrived, with flames out of the floor, the roof, everywhere.

“All the crews could do was ‘surround and drown’ the blaze to put it out.”

The firefighter said the house was “totally destroyed” by the fire.

“The people who lived there were away from the property at the time the fire started.”

The cause was not being treated as suspicious.

“However, specialist fire investigators have been called in to try to ascertain how the fire got started.”

The Pātūtahi Volunteer Fire Brigade posted about the fire on its Facebook page.

“Our thoughts are with the whānau who lost their whare and taonga, but we are grateful nobody was hurt or lost,” the post read.