Young family loses everything in house fire

File photo / NZ Herald

A young family lost everything when fire destroyed their home on the West Coast yesterday.

The young couple, their baby and their 10-year-old son were safely out of the house near Charleston when Westport firefighters arrived but the house was well alight.

"As far as we were concerned it was just a matter of putting it out. Nothing could be saved," said fire chief Pat O'Dea.

He didn't know how the fire had started but said Fire Safety had been called in from Christchurch to investigate.

He said the family was insured and he had arranged for Victim Support to help them.

Firefighters arrived with two trucks just before 5pm and took until around 7.30pm to extinguish the blaze.

Charleston fire party's tanker was also called in because restricted water supply was a major problem.

Mr O'Dea said people who lived or were building in rural areas should ensure they had a water source.