Sue Shand's pet Marley (inset) was saved from a fire that destroyed her Whangārei home (pictured). Photo / Supplied
A Whangārei woman has praised her neighbour’s heroism after he rescued her dog from a blaze that burned her home of 40 years to the ground.
The morning of November 22 had been run of the mill for Sue Shand.
She left her Kensington home about 8am to head to the Whangārei Growers Market with partner Corey.
Their beloved dog Marley, a 3-year-old border terrier, was lounging in his usual spot on the deck of their A-frame home when the couple left.
Unbeknown to them, their home – nestled down a right-of-way on Russell Rd – would be completely engulfed in flames within the hour.
Shand’s neighbour, who did not want to be named, had been eating breakfast in his lounge when his partner came into the room.
“She opened her mouth to say something,” he said, “then I looked up and I knew exactly what she was going to say.”
Where the windows on Shand’s lower storey should have been, were flames.
The man ran out of the house while his partner dialled 111.
He had thought the couple were home.
As he approached the property, he heard Marley barking.
Thick black smoke was billowing from the house, making it hard for the man to see inside.
“All I could hear was popping and crackling,” he said.
Rescuing Marley was his priority.
“My thought process was more if I didn’t try, I would be pretty unhappy with myself.”
The man reckoned if he had waited another three to four minutes, Marley would have died.
Using a small bush against some trellis to climb up onto the deck, he leaned over the railing and fished around for Marley.
“The flames were pretty much under him.”
Marley was in his usual spot but backed up against the balustrade, attempting to get away from the heat.
The man grabbed Marley, then shuffled down from the deck with the dog in his arms.
As he reached the driveway, a frightened Marley ran off. He was later found by members of the public, who returned him home.
The man was still worried someone could be in the home.
“I wanted to know if anyone was inside because at this point I still didn’t know,” he said.
By that point, a large plume of smoke had been seen by residents in Kensington, Te Kamo and Tikipunga.
Shand, too, was aware of the smoke.
“My brother had said, ‘oh, there’s a fire in the Western Hills ... I thought it was a bush fire,” she said.
Then came the call from police.
“We realised, ‘oh God, it’s our house’.”
The neighbour had been standing with police when they made the call.
He had been relieved to hear Shand pick up on the other end.
When Shand and Corey arrived home, they found their driveway blocked by six fire trucks from the Whangārei, Onerahi and Kamo brigades. Firefighters were still battling to contain the blaze.
Crews were there until 5pm, using a digger to make sure the fire was fully extinguished.
The couple were relieved to see Marley was safe. They took Marley to Kamo Vets to get checked, where he is still recovering from burned paws.
The pair were grateful to their neighbours for calling 111 and the act of “heroism” that saved Marley’s life.
Shand said they had been surrounded with support from neighbours, including offers of places to stay and donations of items.
“People are very kind.”
The couple were still adjusting to the loss of their home they say has been the backdrop for so many memories.
Shand had given birth to one of her two children at the property and the home had been where her grandchildren had played.
“My kids are quite sad,” she said. “It’s your whole history.”
Fire and Emergency NZ were unable to determine the cause because of the amount of damage to the property.
Shand’s neighbour works from home. He said he kept looking out the window and saw “nothing there”.
“All in all, I think I’m just processing it,” he said.
“I’m trying not to get affected by it because, I think, the bigger situation is someone has gone through a really terrible thing.”
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.