NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / New Zealand

Auckland chef drags unconscious woman to safety from Morningside house fire

Craig Kapitan
By Craig Kapitan
Senior Multimedia Journalist·NZ Herald·
21 Aug, 2022 11:54 PM4 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Woman rescued from house fire in Morningside after blaze
Phillip Clark hopped a fence and dragged an unconscious woman from a doorway this morning. Video / Phillip Clark ...
Video Player is loading.
Current Time 0:00
/
Duration 0:00
Loaded: 0%
0:00
Stream Type LIVE
Remaining Time -0:00
 
1x
    • Chapters
    • descriptions off, selected
    • subtitles settings, opens subtitles settings dialog
    • subtitles off, selected

      This is a modal window.

      Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

      Text
      Text Background
      Caption Area Background
      Font Size
      Text Edge Style
      Font Family

      End of dialog window.

      This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

      Autoplay in
      3
      Disable Autoplay
      Cancel Video
      Phillip Clark hopped a fence and dragged an unconscious woman from a doorway this morning. Video / Phillip Clark
      NOW PLAYING • Woman rescued from house fire in Morningside after blaze
      Phillip Clark hopped a fence and dragged an unconscious woman from a doorway this morning. Video / Phillip Clark ...

      An Auckland restaurateur says he is still shaken after his Sunday morning commute included bolting from his hastily parked car, jumping over a high picket fence and dragging an unconscious stranger to safety as her home went up in flames.

      "If it was a couple minutes later, she wouldn't be around," chef Phillip Clark said of the ordeal, explaining that soon after he arrived at the site of the Morningside blaze the home was engulfed.

      Clark spoke to the Herald yesterday from the kitchen at Kingsland Social, where the newlywed and father of three still managed to put in a full shift.

      His 2-year-old son was in a car seat behind him and Clark's new father-in-law was also in the vehicle as Clark spotted unusual smoke patterns around 7am while driving along Western Springs Rd.

      Focus Morning Bulletin: 22 August, 2022
      Big clean-up lies ahead in storm aftermath, Capital prepares for another protest and hopes a wage change will help get more overseas staff into New Zealand in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald ...
      Video Player is loading.
      Current Time 0:00
      /
      Duration 0:00
      Loaded: 0%
      0:00
      Stream Type LIVE
      Remaining Time -0:00
       
      1x
        • Chapters
        • descriptions off, selected
        • subtitles settings, opens subtitles settings dialog
        • subtitles off, selected

          This is a modal window.

          Beginning of dialog window. Escape will cancel and close the window.

          Text
          Text Background
          Caption Area Background
          Font Size
          Text Edge Style
          Font Family

          End of dialog window.

          This is a modal window. This modal can be closed by pressing the Escape key or activating the close button.

          NOW PLAYING • Focus Morning Bulletin: 22 August, 2022
          Big clean-up lies ahead in storm aftermath, Capital prepares for another protest and hopes a wage change will help get more overseas staff into New Zealand in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald ...
          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.
          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          "Oh, it's not low and slow moving like barbecue smoke," he recalled thinking as he got nearer.

          By the time he got to the house, it was clear something was wrong.

          "I just pulled my handbrake in the middle of the road. I had to jump a fence because [the gate] was locked.

          "This lady was lying unconscious in the doorway."

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.
          Dark smoke and shooting flames are visible from a burning house that caught fire in Western Springs Rd on Sunday morning. Photo / Supplied
          Dark smoke and shooting flames are visible from a burning house that caught fire in Western Springs Rd on Sunday morning. Photo / Supplied

          As Clark roused the semi-dressed woman and helped pull her from the house, she shouted for her dogs.

          But at that point it was too dangerous to go inside the building to look for them, Clark said.

          His wife, who he married on Tuesday, had been driving behind him so she stayed with the woman as Clark then ran down the long driveway to see if there was another home attached to the street-side house.

          "Sure enough, there was another house," he recalled. "The lady [inside the second house] was freaking out. She had been fast asleep."

          Firefighters arrived a short time later.

          Video of the fire shows flames shooting from the house and huge plumes of dark smoke billowing from the blaze.

          Contractors were working to stabilise the badly fire-damaged property yesterday afternoon. Photo / Rachel Maher
          Contractors were working to stabilise the badly fire-damaged property yesterday afternoon. Photo / Rachel Maher

          Fire and Emergency New Zealand officials refused to provide information about the incident due to ongoing industrial action.

          A police spokesperson confirmed that officers were called to a house fire on Western Springs Rd about 7.20am.

          "All occupants were reported to be out of the home safely," the spokesperson said.

          "One person was being treated for smoke inhalation and it looks like they were transported to hospital by ambulance."

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          A St John ambulance spokesperson said two vehicles were sent to the area at 7.24am and one person was treated with moderate injuries.

          The Herald understands the woman remained in hospital last night.

          Clark said he didn't know what happened to the woman - he left to get ready for his restaurant's Sunday brunch rush after emergency responders took over.

          He described the woman, thought to be in her 40s, as so incoherent that she was unlikely to remember any of it.

          Kingsland Social chef and owner Phillip Clark performed some heroics during his Sunday morning commute. Photo / Brett Phibbs
          Kingsland Social chef and owner Phillip Clark performed some heroics during his Sunday morning commute. Photo / Brett Phibbs

          "This all happened so fast. I just reacted," he said, adding that it didn't sink in until later that he had risked his life - jeopardising his family and business to help a stranger.

          "I didn't really think about that at the time, but I do now and I'm a bit shaken, to be honest."

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          Other cars had driven by without stopping, Clark said. Given how quickly the fire grew, he had little doubt the fire could have been fatal if he done the same.

          "I don't regret it," he said before politely suggesting the interview end so he could get back to filling brunch orders.

          Contractors were stabilising the badly damaged property when the Herald visited yesterday afternoon.

          They told the Herald the owner was still in hospital and the property "was considered extremely dangerous" due to fire damage.

          The house was noticeably burnt, with most window shattered, and a strong, pronounced smell of smoke.

          One neighbour said he saw the blaze before heading to church and described seeing "billows of smoke" coming from the burning home.

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          "The firefighters were already on the scene trying to fight it when I saw it, I can imagine they had quite the job, the fire looked very intense."

          Save
            Share this article

          Latest from New Zealand

          Crime

          'A monster': Woman discovered abusive husband had been secretly recording her

          Auckland

          'I'll be back': Kim Dotcom on recovery journey after stroke

          New Zealand

          'Sweet dreams, my baby boy': Mother's heartbreak as son found dead at Arkles Bay


          Sponsored

          Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

          Advertisement
          Advertise with NZME.

          Recommended for you

          'A monster': Woman discovered abusive husband had been secretly recording her
          Crime

          'A monster': Woman discovered abusive husband had been secretly recording her

          'I'll be back': Kim Dotcom on recovery journey after stroke
          Auckland

          'I'll be back': Kim Dotcom on recovery journey after stroke

          'Sweet dreams, my baby boy': Mother's heartbreak as son found dead at Arkles Bay
          New Zealand

          'Sweet dreams, my baby boy': Mother's heartbreak as son found dead at Arkles Bay

          'Frankly outrageous': Government making thousands more building products available in New Zealand
          Politics

          'Frankly outrageous': Government making thousands more building products available in New Zealand

          Severe weather warnings issued as heavy rain, high winds loom
          New Zealand

          Severe weather warnings issued as heavy rain, high winds loom

          Israel allows Gaza aid airdrops amid famine fears
          World

          Israel allows Gaza aid airdrops amid famine fears



          Latest from New Zealand

          'A monster': Woman discovered abusive husband had been secretly recording her
          Crime

          'A monster': Woman discovered abusive husband had been secretly recording her

          She was forced to send the man photos proving her whereabouts.

          27 Jul 02:00 AM
          'I'll be back': Kim Dotcom on recovery journey after stroke
          Auckland

          'I'll be back': Kim Dotcom on recovery journey after stroke

          27 Jul 01:44 AM
          'Sweet dreams, my baby boy': Mother's heartbreak as son found dead at Arkles Bay
          New Zealand

          'Sweet dreams, my baby boy': Mother's heartbreak as son found dead at Arkles Bay

          27 Jul 01:39 AM


          Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky
          Sponsored

          Solar bat monitors uncover secrets of Auckland’s night sky

          06 Jul 09:47 PM

          NZ Herald
          • About NZ Herald
          • Meet the journalists
          • Newsletters
          • Classifieds
          • Help & support
          • Contact us
          • House rules
          • Privacy Policy
          • Terms of use
          • Competition terms & conditions
          • Our use of AI
          Subscriber Services
          • NZ Herald e-editions
          • Daily puzzles & quizzes
          • Manage your digital subscription
          • Manage your print subscription
          • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
          • Subscribe to Herald Premium
          • Gift a subscription
          • Subscriber FAQs
          • Subscription terms & conditions
          • Promotions and subscriber benefits
          NZME Network
          • The New Zealand Herald
          • The Northland Age
          • The Northern Advocate
          • Waikato Herald
          • Bay of Plenty Times
          • Rotorua Daily Post
          • Hawke's Bay Today
          • Whanganui Chronicle
          • Viva
          • NZ Listener
          • Newstalk ZB
          • BusinessDesk
          • OneRoof
          • Driven Car Guide
          • iHeart Radio
          • Restaurant Hub
          NZME
          • About NZME
          • NZME careers
          • Advertise with NZME
          • Digital self-service advertising
          • Book your classified ad
          • Photo sales
          • NZME Events
          • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
          TOP
          search by queryly Advanced Search