“I figured it might be someone getting pulled over, then I heard another siren and thought it sounded very close - that’s when I ran to my mum’s room and saw these lights coming through the curtain.
“I thought ‘oh no, this doesn’t seem right’.”
After running outside, McElroy first noticed numerous people getting back into their cars after returning from the concert. When another siren sounded off, she turned to spot orange smoke coming down the street.
“I yelled ‘fire’ to my mum, we grabbed the key to our gate and ran down the street.”
McElroy said the street was littered with police, ambulances and fire engines - siren after siren ringing out.
When she realised whose house had caught fire, McElroy immediately felt saddened.
The property belonged to a man who she had grown good friends with over the years - a “lovely man” who often walked past their house with his dog.
The Elton John concert, held less than 2km away at Orangetheory Stadium, had just concluded when the fire sparked. Photo / George Heard
“We started speaking to him and slowly became good friends,” she said.
“He actually helped us put a wire up to stop my dog from escaping through our hedge, so a really lovely guy.”
McElroy spotted the man sitting on the ground, holding his dog and clearly in shock. She approached him and checked to make sure he was alright, noticing he was holding a gauze pad to the back of his head.
“My mum said he needed a blanket, so I got a blanket and wrapped it around him. He thanked me and told me he’d bring it back to me, but I said he should keep it.”
Looking towards the property, McElroy saw the front of the property was completely consumed by flames.
“I was nearly in tears,” she said.
The four fire crews at the scene of the blaze tackled the flames for about the best part of two hours, Fire and Emergency said.
St John Ambulance said two people were taken to Christchurch Hospital with moderate injuries.
Fire investigators were at the scene of the property on Wednesday morning, looking into the fire’s cause. Photo / NZME
“It was scary hearing the sirens and seeing another house in flames,” said McElroy.
She noted there’s been a few house fires over the years around Bayley Pl, a no-exit street. On one occasion, the fire completely gutted a nearby property and it needed to be demolished.
A local for nearly 20 years, McElroy can recount a few properties which have burned down in her time.
“Seeing the house fires around you, you feel upset for the occupants and you want them to go back to living their life,” she said.
“You want to know how you can help them, but you just can’t do that much.”
Fire investigators were at the scene of the property on Wednesday morning, looking into the fire’s cause.
According to a Fire and Emergency staff member at the scene, the property’s owner re-entered the property after initially escaping, which is what caused his injury.
