‘Sold’ sign on Napier house ‘heavily impacted’ by fire

Two fire appliances from Napier, an operational support unit and a tanker from Hastings attended a well-involved house fire on Maltby St in Meeanee. Photo / Warren Buckland

A Napier house fire with a ‘sold’ sign on the fence was quickly contained by firefighters on Wednesday morning, but not before the building was badly burned.

Two fire appliances from Napier, an operational support unit and a tanker from Hastings attended the house fire on Maltby St in Meeanee about 5.30am and had it under control by about 6.15am.

Napier senior station officer Bruce Botherway said one fire appliance was still at the scene at 7.45am.

He said firefighters believed the building was unoccupied when they arrived.

He said the fire was “well-involved” when firefighters arrived and the building would likely be “heavily impacted”.

He said the cause of the fire was undetermined and a fire investigator would be arriving on the scene.

Napier's senior station officer said the fire was “well-involved” when firefighters arrived and the building would likely be “heavily impacted”. A fire investigator is expected to arrive later on Wednesday. Photo / Warren Buckland

A sign was on the fence as of Wednesday morning indicating the property had recently been sold.

Ray White real estate agent John Martis said he was aware of the fire and was gathering his thoughts on how to help the owner and purchaser of the property.

Severe scorching and damage was visible on more than half of the building from the outside.

Meanwhile, a cause has not yet been officially determined for the Waipukurau fire that left one person critically injured on Tuesday afternoon.

Firefighters and police were called to Gaisford Terrace about 2.40pm on Tuesday and found the home well-alight and the roof collapsing.

Hawke’s Bay Rescue Helicopter transported an injured man in his 30s to Hawke’s Bay Hospital, according to general manager Ian Wilmot.

A Te Whatu Ora – Health New Zealand Hawke’s Bay spokeswoman said the man was assessed, treated and discharged on Wednesday morning.

A police spokesman said police had offered scene protection, but Fire and Emergency New Zealand was still the lead agency, and the latest information was that a fire investigator had attended the scene on Tuesday but no cause had been determined yet.

James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz.