Villa damaged but still standing

The Kaitaia Fire Brigade might well have set a record when it responded to a house fire on Rotokawau Road, north of Awanui, on Sunday afternoon.

Senior Station Officer Ross Beddows said the first appliance was on the scene, some 15 kilometres north of Kaitaia, in "10 minutes flat," but even so had arrived only in the nick of time.

A second appliance and the water tanker were close behind the first crew, Mr Beddows saying the old villa had been minutes away from being totally involved by the time the first hoses were in action.

"It's a clich, I know, but it was a very good save," he said.

There was a lot of water damage, however, and significant restoration work would be needed, particularly in the ceiling, but the house was insured, he added. And it was still standing.

One crew had fought the blaze from outside the house while another donned breathing apparatus to get inside, breaking into the ceiling from a bedroom to get at the seat of the fire. Deputy Chief Fire Officer Craig Rogers said the ceiling cavity was "going well" by that stage, and suffered significant fire damage.

Fire investigator Mike Champtaloup had travelled from Paihia to inspect the house, and had agreed with the owner's suspicion that the fire had resulted from the use of a heat gun/paint stripper on the back wall.