Jocelyn Allen of Whangarei erects a temporary fence around the burned-out state house in Kerikeri's Jacaranda Place. Photo / Peter de Graaf
Three young people were "very, very lucky" to escape with their lives when their Kerikeri rental was gutted by fire early yesterday.
All three were asleep when the blaze started in the lounge of the Housing New Zealand home on Jacaranda Place about 1.20am.
The house had been fitted with
smoke alarms but they were not working at the time. The trio - two women and a man, thought to be in their 20s - were woken by the noise of the fire and had to jump out the windows.
One woman, a visitor at the property, was taken to Bay of Islands Hospital in Kawakawa suffering the effects of the fire. She was expected to be discharged later in the day. The house was burning fiercely when volunteers from the Kerikeri fire brigade arrived. They could save only the garage and went home about 4.45am yesterday.
Fire investigator Craig Bain said the most likely cause was an accidentally discarded cigarette.
