A witness to the scene of a fatal house fire in Henderson says a 'lovely' old man lived at the back of the property.
Video / Jason Oxenham / Jaime Lyth
A woman living next to the scene of a fatal house fire in the west Auckland suburb of Henderson says a “lovely” old man lived at the back of the property in a sleepout.
Police were called to assist Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) at the RathgarRd property at 12.39am, where they found one person deceased.
“The death is being treated as unexplained,” police said.
This morning, the blackened shell of a structure and charred grass could be seen at the rear of the property.
One person died in a house fire in the west Auckland suburb of Henderson overnight.
“They had lit a rubbish fire about 5.30 that [afternoon] like they always do and we think that is what caused the fire in the back sleepout.
“They are very lucky the main house didn’t catch fire.”
One person died in a house fire in the west Auckland suburb of Henderson overnight. Photo / Jaime Lyth
A neighbour told the Herald she began to smell smoke before midnight, but didn’t realise there was a fire raging beside her home until Fenz knocked on her door.
“At about 11 o’clock, I closed all windows.
“He [the neighbour] would usually burn things. So I just thought it was something normal.”
The woman said she went back to bed but did start to wonder why it was sounding so busy outside.
“Then an hour later, I heard someone come up and this lady banged on the door, she said ‘your house is on fire’.
“We were very lucky.”
She said an older man lived at the back of the property in a sleepout and she would often see him walk his dog.
“He was quite lovely. He’s so old, I couldn’t imagine him getting out of there in time.
Schoolchildren were being detoured around the cordon as they walked to school.
Police last night were seen evacuating several neighbouring houses, banging on doors and waking residents of homes on Larissa Ave and Rathgar Rd, with a Herald photographer saying people were kept on the street for hours.
St John ambulance officers also attended the incident.
Emergency services personnel at the scene declined to comment.
