OPEN HOME: The fire-ravaged Baker family home south of Tikokino, where the Fire Service will show members of the public the devastation and impacts at an open day today. PHOTO/NZ FIRE SERVICE
OPEN HOME: The fire-ravaged Baker family home south of Tikokino, where the Fire Service will show members of the public the devastation and impacts at an open day today. PHOTO/NZ FIRE SERVICE
A Central Hawke's Bay family's home will be opened to the public today as a Fire Service opportunity to raise people's awareness about what to do in the moments it can take for fire to destroy everything they've got.
Despite the trauma of losing his State Highway 50 home southof Tikokino four weeks ago, Kevin Baker had no hesitation agreeing to make its gutted remains available for the cause.
"We said, Yeah, go for it," said Mr Baker, who with partner Sue and their children had lived in the house for 3-4 years before the late Sunday afternoon September 29 fire.
He's even had demolition delayed a few days, although that's not a biggie in the context of a plan which could see them waiting another 18 month until the replacement home is completed.
Even with the experience of fighting rural fires, and having not long decided to join the Onga Onga Fire Brigade, he was stunned by the speed with which the fire took hold, starting while the family was outside with a young goat.
The alarm was raised when the couple's seven-year-old went inside, and came out screaming there was a fire. The couple entered the house to find out what he was talking about, and saw the fire spreading rapidly from a bedroom at the opposite end, and Mr Baker said: "It was racing through. We just got out. It was the speed of it I couldn't get over."
It took the volunteer brigade just 12 minutes to arrive, but the house was beyond saving and was gutted within 20 minutes of when the fire was first noticed.
The family lost everything except the clothes they'd been wearing, and a small number of photographs salvaged from the ashes.
"We'll never get over it," he said, noting, though, that some friends seemed to have taken it harder.
Of the prospect of people trampling through his home this weekend, he said: "It's going to be a bit different, but it's for a good cause."
The house is at 1312 Highway 50, and Fire Service area manager Chris Nicoll says the 10.30am-3pm open home on Saturday will be a good opportunity for people to understand the devastating impact of a house fire.
"People often don't realise just how quickly a fire spreads and the need to prepare their families for what to do in the event of a fire," he said. "By seeing the results of a fire first hand and talking to the Fire Service they can learn valuable information about preventing fires and planning to escape from fires."
Families will be shown where and how the fire may have started, how damage could have been reduced and the impact of smoke and flames.
Fire safety information will be available for people to take away.
