Fire and Emergency NZ say fuel vapour explosion caused hillside house fire near Eskdale

The fire burnt through a home on a hillside between Eskdale and Bay View on Tuesday afternoon. Photo / Taylor Jonas

Investigators say a fire that critically injured one person when it ripped through a shed home on a hill above Bay View in Hawke’s Bay was caused by an accidental fuel vapour explosion.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand said initial investigations had concluded the fire was likely accidentally caused by a spark generated in the presence of fuel vapour.

Firefighters were called to the Seafield Rd property at 1.21pm on Tuesday. One person was flown from the scene to Wellington Hospital by rescue helicopter with critical injuries.

Napier senior station officer Dan Nesbit said he was part of the crew that responded to the call, which came from someone at or near the scene.

“We were originally called to smoke in the area, and from there it was quickly upgraded to a structure fire when more information came in,” he said.

Nesbit said Fire and Emergency initially responded with one fire truck, which was soon upgraded and another truck was sent.

“En route we could see the fire, and it was upgraded to a second alarm ... that means it gave us an extra two fire trucks, a support vehicle and an extra tanker.”

Nesbit said the crews could see a large plume of smoke, but as they drove past the airport, they were able to see the building on the hill on fire from several kilometres away.

“It was a large shed, half the shed had been converted into a living residence and the other half was used as a shed or a garage.

“We believe the fire was started from an explosion within the shed.”

He said people were working in the shed at the time, and the person injured was attended to by the first fire truck that arrived at the scene.

Nesbit said he was unable to say where exactly the fire had started, but the shed and the contents inside the building were a total loss.

“Nothing is saveable in this.

“We have a recovery team which will make contact with the occupants and the people directly involved in the incident and they will help guide them through the next steps and offer support.”

Nesbit said due to the fire being in a rural and non-reticulated area, it meant the fire crews had to bring all the water with them.

He said it was a good reminder to ensure water supplies were easily accessible to firefighters in an emergency.

Michaela Gower joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2023 and is based out of the Hastings newsroom. She covers Dannevirke and Hawke’s Bay news and loves sharing stories about farming and rural communities.