KATE NEWTON
Clients' records stood no chance as flames roared through the Havelock North offices of Howard Padman Chartered Accountants yesterday afternoon.
"Fortunately we have a safe for the important ones, but it just came so quickly that we had no time to evacuate the files we were working on," Mr
Padman said.
Rows of folders still stood on their shelves once the flames had been put out but threatened to fall into piles of ash.
"All the free-standing computers are gone," Mr Padman said. "We've got insurance, but insurance doesn't buy time."
The fire is believed to have started in a corner of the office about 4pm.
It was just a short drive round the corner for the two Havelock North fire appliances and the volunteer firefighters, based on Karanema Drive The Hastings Fire Service was busy attending another fire so the Napier Fire Service responded to the call but wasn't needed.
Next door Graeme Billing, from Ajay cleaners, was tidying up in the playground at the Havelock North Village kindergarten when he saw the flames shooting out of the windows.
When a tree on his side of the fence caught fire and the green shade sail started melting from the heat Mr Billing rang the Fire Service but couldn't get through.
Opting instead to grab the garden hose he made sure the flames stayed away from the kindergarten building.
Mr Billing had been scheduled to clean Howard Padman Chartered Accountants today.
Mr Padman has been renting the corrugated iron building on the corner of Napier Road and Karanema Drive over the road from The Domain, from Morry Williams since 2002.
The owner of neighbouring Havelock Physiotherapy was relieved to find there was a firewall between her office and Mr Padman's.
Patients were ushered out first, followed by staff carrying the computers, but the flames that were higher than the building didn't even touch Anne O'Donnell's business.
"The volunteer fire brigade were fantastic," she said.
The Fire Service is investigating.
