Waiheke donation site to help fire victim rebuild

John "Craka" Walker suffered serious burns to his face and arms when his boat went up in flames on Monday night. Photo / Jane Vile

A Waiheke Island resident has set up a donation site so people can help out the owner of a house boat that burnt out this week, killing another man.

John "Craka" Walker suffered serious burns to his face and arms when his boat went up in flames on Monday night, and remains in Middlemore Hospital.

His friend and drinking companion David Brady died in the fire.

Waiheke Islander Robin Tucker, who does not know Mr Walker personally, said yesterday she had set up a Givealittle page and a bank account for donations for the fire survivor.

"Obviously John Walker has lost all of his belongings, and he's probably going to end up with a prolonged recovery.

"I think he is going to need a fair amount of assistance. And being a more transient member of the community, he probably doesn't have the means to do that himself."

Monday's blaze was the second fire within four months for Mr Walker, who lost his previous boat in June.

The Waiheke community helped him raise enough money to buy his new boat following the first fire, and Ms Tucker wanted to do the same again.

"We're a close-knit community," she said. "I know some of the other people down there [living on boats]."

The Givealittle page she has set up, called The John Walker Fund, had this morning raised $230.

"We are aiming to raise funds to support John's recuperation and re-establish him in the environment that suits him best," Ms Tucker wrote on the page.

The cause of the fire was still yet to be determined, Detective Inspector Scott Beard said yesterday afternoon.

Investigations were continuing and interviews should be completed today, though police needed to wait for expert fire investigators to get back to them.

* Donations can be made to www.givealittle.co.nz/cause/John-Walker-Fund

Or deposited into the account: The John Walker Fund 02-0108-0310692-083