Fire destroys Wairarapa family home

INVESTIGATION: Masterton police Senior Constable Bob Hooker photographs the damage left in the wake of the blaze that gutted the Carterton home of a young family.PHOTOS/LYNDA FERINGA

A single mother and her four young children have lost all they own in a house fire that rocked their Carterton neighbourhood with loud explosions.

Police are treating the blaze as suspicious and a Fire Service investigator and detectives were at the scene yesterday examining the Moreton Rd home, which was gutted in the fire that broke out about 9.30pm on Wednesday.

Maheno Te Rangi said she and her four children, who are aged from 8 to 3-years-old, had been staying for the past few days with her parents in Kent St in the town. She was unsettled but relieved her children were safe and had been spared the anguish of watching their home burn.

Ms Te Rangi said she had "no idea" how the blaze started and was returning to the property yesterday afternoon "for my own peace of mind, to see for myself that everything is gone".

"I'm quite upset today, especially for my babies. Everything we owned was in there and they lost everything - clothes, toys, all their school stuff, photos, all my Plunket books. Everything," she said.

"I told the kids there was an accident at the house and we can't go there at the moment and they seem to be handling it well. But I've been crying all day and I haven't slept yet."

Ms Maheno said she and her children had shifted to her parents' home and offers of help already had been made to the family.

Carterton fire chief Wayne Robinson said firefighters from Carterton, Masterton and Greytown had been scrambled to the blaze alongside a breathing apparatus tender from the Hutt.

He said fire crews arrived to find the blaze had taken a firm hold on both bedrooms and the living room of the small house, to which there was no power supply. Firefighters wore breathing gear to search the burning home, taking about 15 minutes to bring the fire under control after establishing nobody was caught inside.

Moreton Rd neighbours Bill and Gina Duncan said they had heard a "very loud explosion" just before 9.30pm that left Mrs Duncan shaking and terrified.

Jenny McKee, who lives across the road from the Te Rangi home, said she was outside and watching as "a big bang blew out the front of the house".

Mr Robinson said fire crews stayed on for another hour or so at the scene to dampen hotspots and ensure the blaze did not re-ignite.