Firefighter hurt in blaze

One minute Ngongotaha volunteer firefighter Ian Breadmore was experiencing the rush of helping save a house from fire. The next he was about to pass out.

Mr Breadmore suffered smoke inhalation and heat exhaustion on Sunday night after battling to save two homes at the Lakeview Bible Camp, Hamurana.

"It was quite scary," Mr Breadmore said of the experience - his first hospitalisation in five-and-a-half years of volunteer firefighting.

The fire was in the roof space of a six-bedroom house on the Bible camp property. When firefighters arrived there was a lot of smoke, said Ngongotaha Volunteer Fire Brigade acting chief Mike Lepper.

"The whole area was full of smoke, we couldn't see the house because of all the smoke coming out of it," Mr Lepper said. "The strong winds were a factor as smoke was swirled around. We nearly had to put the pump operators in breathing apparatus."

Mr Breadmore said he had got out of the truck to assess the building and plan an attack when he was caught up in the smoke. "I was on the front lawn when the wind changed and I took a few long breaths of smoke. I put my breathing apparatus on and went in to fight the fire."

He said it took about 40 minutes to get the blaze under control and when he went back outside he started to feel the effects of heat exhaustion, smoke inhalation and fatigue.

"My body just closed down. I was sweating profusely in my suit and then the sweating stopped. I had a massive wave of nausea and I vomited. I just went cold. I couldn't feel from my knees down. The feeling went from my legs, arms and hands and my hands started cramping. I had a massive headache, like nothing I've felt in my life.

"This was all within minutes. I turned to my partner and said I was going to pass out."

Mr Breadmore was taken to Rotorua Hospital by St John Ambulance. He was put on 100 per cent oxygen to combat the carbon monoxide and allowed to go home three hours later.

"I feel great now."

Mr Breadmore was fighting fit and able to support his son at the Tai Mitchell rugby tournament yesterday.

Mr Lepper said firefighters saved both buildings. There is extensive smoke damage in the first floor of the six-bedroom house, but the adjoining two-bedroom home was undamaged. It was not thought to be suspicious.

The owners of the houses, which are not connected to the camp, did not want to comment.

Two appliances from Ngongotaha, the Ngongotaha water tanker, one crew from Rotorua and the Rotorua operational support vehicle attended the fire, which started just before 8pm on Sunday.