Fatal flames haunt grandmother

Whetumarama Edwards (pictured) and his sister Charna died in the fire.

A woman who escaped a raging fire with her son but was unable to save her two grandchildren says she will be forever haunted by the belief she could have done more.

Kathy Paratene, 54, and Stewart Wijohn, 34, managed to get out of the two-bedroom bach near Motueka with serious burns after it caught fire on Saturday night, but Charna Maria Baileys Edwards, 11, and her brother Whetumarama James Edwards, 12, were trapped in a bedroom.

"It's going to be with me for the rest of my life," Ms Paratene, the children's guardian, told the Herald from her Nelson hospital bed.

"As far as I'm concerned I could have helped them, but I just panicked. It's not something I like to remember. I still think I could have done more."

Passersby and firefighters said the fire was too intense to get near the burning bach.

All four occupants were asleep when the fire broke out about 10.15pm. Ms Paratene was woken by her son, who told her to get out.

"I was still a bit confused and we tried to put the fire out. We should have got out of the house, but we weren't thinking ourselves, and all of a sudden the house just exploded.

"We were in the kitchen, so we didn't have time to go back to my grandchildren.

"We smashed the wash-house window, jumped out of there, ran around to smash the [bedroom] window and see if we could get them out. But by then there was just a big ball of fire - we couldn't get near it."

Police revealed yesterday that the fire started from log fire ashes stored in a plastic bucket.

Ms Paratene said she was not aware there were ashes in the bucket before the fire.

"I usually clean that out. I have been asked if I cleaned the fireplace and I told them I do that every morning and then I throw it down by the sea. There shouldn't have been any ashes in the bucket, unless one of the boys emptied the fireplace without my knowledge."

Ms Paratene is still suffering from burns up her right side. Mr Wijohn is also recovering in hospital.

The children's bodies will be taken to Motueka's Te Awhina Marae today, but it has not been decided where they will be laid to rest. They had been living in the South Island since March.

"It's really up to my daughter, who is travelling to see me ... from Auckland. I'm trying to keep them down here. If not we are going to fly them to Auckland."

Ms Paratene said she and the children had been waiting to move into a remodelled Housing New Zealand property.

Teachers and pupils at the children's school yesterday shared tears and memories of Charna and Whetumarama.

"Some of the children had actually written things and they got up, and of course before you knew where you were, there wasn't a dry eye in the house," said Lower Moutere School principal Eric Davis.

"It is a sad time, but they are going through the grieving process by getting out through their tears."

Fire safety officer Paul Wigzell said it was frustrating that Fire Service safety messages about things such as disposing of ashes went unheeded.