Taipa fire destroys home, beloved cats; couple left with nothing

A house fire at Taipa claimed the lives of two Maine Coons, leaving their owners devastated.

A Far North couple was left with only the clothes on their back after a fire destroyed their home and killed their two pet cats.

Kevin Wheller had been in the shed on his Taipa property on June 16 when he decided to make a cup of tea.

However, the 72-year-old found his home on fire and the second storey starting to collapse.

In the hopes of saving their two cats, Kevin went to the front door.

But as he pulled it open, a cloud of heat and smoke billowed out.

He was left with no choice but to watch as his home burned.

Kevin rushed to find a cellphone signal and called his wife, Susie, who was at work in Kaitāia.

“I went, ‘You’re joking’,” Susie said.

“I’m sorry darling but the house has gone,” Kevin told her.

By the time Susie, 61, got to the Awanui Junction, she could see a plume of smoke high in the sky.

“For that 30-minute drive home, I was looking at that tower of smoke thinking, ‘That’s my house’.”

Susie said she collapsed and sobbed on seeing her home still burning.

Then came the news the couple’s two 18-month-old Maine Coons named Casey and Cleo had perished in the blaze.

The treasured pets lived indoors and had a cattery, they were spoiled and well-loved, Susie said.

“We were lucky to have them.”

Kevin Wheller with their Maine Coon's Casey and Cleo.

Maine Coons Casey and Cleo perished in a fire on June 16.

Alongside their cats, the couple had lost 13 years of memories in the flames.

They had used a supporting beam in their home to mark their children and grandchildren’s heights.

“No one will never get measured in that house again,” Susie said.

Photographs passed down from Susie’s elderly mother which spanned more than 100 years were destroyed.

Susie had commissioned work by local artist Sandra Jane that had been turned to ash.

The pair had been living in Auckland before moving to Taipa 13 years ago.

Their house had been the home of Susie’s dreams.

The home of Susie and Kevin Wheller is nothing but ash after a blaze destroyed it.

“I called out to him [Kevin] one day and I said ‘Love, I’ve found it’, and he said ‘What have you lost?’.

“I said, ‘I’ve found the house we’re going to buy’.”

A week later they were in Taipa viewing the home and soon after they put an offer in.

“It was pure magic,” Susie said.

“As soon as you came on the land, you felt the magic of not just the house.”

Grandchildren had spent their school holidays there and family friends had enjoyed their honeymoon in a self-contained cottage.

Thankfully, the cottage was not destroyed in the blaze, Susie said.

The pair were temporarily staying at Taipa Beach Resort and a friend had lent them a caravan.

It was going to be a while before power returned as the transformer had melted in the fire too.

Susie said they had been overwhelmed with support from their community, such as free rein of a local op-shop, donations, help tidying their space and general emotional support.

Taipa couple Kevin and Susie Wheller are devastated at the loss of their dream home.

They did not know what the future held - Susie said that was the hardest part.

Insurance assessors had completed their report but the outcome could be days away still.

A fire inspector told Susie the blaze was caused by a rat chewing through wires.

“Because it was all dry native wood, it was just a tinderbox. It didn’t have any chance.”

Susie believed it could be a year before they were in a proper house, which would likely be a relocatable home.

A Givealittle page has been launched to support the Whellers.

Brodie Stone covers crime and emergency for the Northern Advocate. She has spent most of her life in Whangārei and is passionate about delving into issues that matter to Northlanders and beyond.