Wairoa reacts to burglary of veteran fireman: ‘Low as a snake’s belly’

Wairoa Volunteer Fire Brigade senior station officer Phillip Jane, a veteran of 36 years of service, whose home was burgled while he was out clearing drains in his day job with roading contractors Fulton Hogan during flooding on Saturday. Photo / Supplied

One of Wairoa’s longest-serving volunteer firemen was burgled while on a call clearing flooded drains on his day job.

Senior station officer Phil Jane, who works for roading contractors Fulton Hogan, said the burglary, targeting mainly food from his refrigerator and freezer, happened between 2.30pm and 5.30pm on Saturday.

“Low as a snake’s belly,” said one social media post in the town, as locals reacted to news.

Jane, a member of the Wairoa Volunteer Fire Brigade since 1990, didn’t have any names, and suspects it may have been opportunist children, and he’d like the chance to talk with them.

“If they had come to the door and said they were hungry and needed some food, I’d have given it to them, with open arms,” he said.

“That’s my nature.”

Jane had been out clearing gutters, kerbs and drains after a deluge which brought up to 80mm of rain to Wairoa in two hours, from 10am to midday on Saturday, flooding some streets to the point of being impassable.

He saw no signs of the theft until he opened the refrigerator door, and found the margarine, an opened new pack of bacon, a bag of Pineapple Lumps, and a two-litre bottle of milk were gone.

A check of the freezer revealed the Magnum ice creams and Juicies had also vanished, while a search of the house revealed the intruder or intruders had been into other rooms, although the only other item appearing to be missing was a box of soap powder.

Jane, who had left for the job in a hurry and left the door unlocked, recalled only one other burglary or theft at home before.

“That was years ago,” he said.

It isn’t the first time a firefighting volunteer in Wairoa has been targeted while out serving and protecting the community.

In June, a volunteer’s car was broken into early in the morning while on a fire call.

Doug Laing has been in the news industry for more than 50 years and is a Hawke’s Bay Today reporter based in Napier.