Fire safety officer Craig Bain at the scene of a Kaikohe house fire in 2021. Photo / NZME
When the flames have gone and the fire engines have left, Northland fire investigator Craig Bain stays to sift through the ash and charred ruins for clues. He spoke to reporter Brodie Stone as he brought his 30-year career to a close.
In the past three decades, Craig Bain has conducted 973 fire investigations.
The 65-year-old has probed murder-suicides, inspected fatal fires, helped police arrest serial arsonists, and has solved some of Northland’s most infamous blazes.
Bain said his first step when arriving at the scene of a fire was to stand outside and observe.
Deliberately lit fires were the easiest to spot because petrol residue could be easily identified, he said.
When it came to other fires, Bain would sometimes get a “gut feeling”.
“After all the fires I’ve been to ... I’ll be there and go, ‘I’ve seen this before’.”
But the rest of the time was a matter of working through the puzzle pieces.
Bain would often have an idea in his head about what could have happened but might uncover something that told a different story.
“It just becomes a case of proving what it wasn’t.”
Bain said people doing “silly things” in everyday life commonly caused fires.
“You can bang your head against a brick wall but people are habitual in what they do. That’s the way they’re living and you can’t knock them for it.
“All you can do is just keep reminding them that it might be a problem and it might catch [them] out.”
It’s that approach to fire safety that has seen Bain receive commendations for his work.
In 1999, he received an award from the national commander for professionalism and dedication to fire investigation.
Bain was also awarded a commendation for professionalism in report writing, and in 2002 was the Pride in Prevention award recipient during a community fire service seminar.
“Sometimes it does get to you, you know, but I’ve always just been head down, bum up, get on with the job.”
Bain had investigated fires in which people had died.
“It’s when it involves children that it really does get to you - children and young people.”
When Bain struggled with what he saw on the job, he would sit on the beach and watch the waves roll in and out.
He said fires were particularly devastating because they could destroy everything.
“Someone can break into their house while they’re at the movies or on holiday or something and trash the place and there’s always something that you’ll find.
“When it comes to fires, it’s very, very difficult to find something that isn’t damaged. It’s gone.”
Bain has attended some memorable fires over the years, such as a home in Ōtangarei set alight 13 times.
He said the house had a dark past so locals kept trying to burn it down. It was eventually demolished.
Bain’s career could be considered somewhat unusual for someone who started out as a radio host.
He first became involved in the media world as a high school student in 1978 via Pacific Television in Hamilton.
Over time, he wrote radio commercials, hosted the first legal FM radio and various other radio shows, and received accolades in the New Zealand Radio Awards.
Bain’s interest in fire safety developed early on through his voluntary fire service roles.
He became a safety officer in the wider Waikato region in 1998 and oversaw fire safety for several district councils.
Since then, Bain has held voluntary secretary roles in several brigades and acts as visual media director for the Whangārei Salvation Army.
He’s helped design and develop a syllabus and course structure for volunteers around fire investigation and fire safety.
Bain moved permanently to Northland in 2003, where he noticed how friendly people were when investigating fires.
“Talking helps a lot because people see a fire from different angles. The couple across the road saw it differently from the people next door, and the person driving past saw it differently as well.”
Bain said what he would miss the most as he retired was the people.
“My team know that if they’re scratching their head, it’s not a problem to ring me up and pop around and we can have a coffee,” he said.
“If it’s bad enough, we’ll have a whisky or beer.”
Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.