The Country
  • The Country home
  • Latest news
  • Audio & podcasts
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life
  • Listen on iHeart radio

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • Coast & Country News
  • Opinion
  • Dairy farming
  • Sheep & beef farming
  • Horticulture
  • Animal health
  • Rural business
  • Rural technology
  • Rural life

Media

  • Podcasts
  • Video

Weather

  • Kaitaia
  • Whāngarei
  • Dargaville
  • Auckland
  • Thames
  • Tauranga
  • Hamilton
  • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Tokoroa
  • Te Kuiti
  • Taumurunui
  • Taupō
  • Gisborne
  • New Plymouth
  • Napier
  • Hastings
  • Dannevirke
  • Whanganui
  • Palmerston North
  • Levin
  • Paraparaumu
  • Masterton
  • Wellington
  • Motueka
  • Nelson
  • Blenheim
  • Westport
  • Reefton
  • Kaikōura
  • Greymouth
  • Hokitika
  • Christchurch
  • Ashburton
  • Timaru
  • Wānaka
  • Oamaru
  • Queenstown
  • Dunedin
  • Gore
  • Invercargill

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / The Country

Brothers try to extinguish flames but rural Northland family home razed

By Kristin Edge
Reporter·Northern Advocate·
4 Aug, 2020 09:00 PM2 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
Fire crews were unable to get to a remote rural home quick enough to safe it. Photo / File

Fire crews were unable to get to a remote rural home quick enough to safe it. Photo / File

Two brothers tried to put out a fire using a bucket and garden hose after the blaze started in a bedroom of their family home in Northland.

Fire crews from Whangārei, Kamo, Hikurangi and Kawakawa were called to the fire at Mokau Rd but due to the remote location little could be done to put out the fire that eventually destroyed the five bedroom home.

Mokau is 45km north of Whangārei on a winding road.

The alarm was raised about 7.30am yesterday , Specialist Fire Investigator Gary Beer said.

After inspecting the charred remains, Beer said the cause of the fire could not be determined but it was not thought to be suspicious. He said five people lived in the insured, single story home.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

A teenager who had been waiting for the school bus down the driveway had noticed the fire and ran back to make sure his brother had made it safely outside.

"One person in their 20s was still asleep but woke to the smell of smoke," Beer said.

Together the brothers used buckets of water and a garden hose to try to quell the fire until help arrived but unfortunately they could not stem the flames.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"The house is demolished and the family are devastated," Beer said.

When crews arrived they had to set up a portable pump in a nearby creek, fill a tanker and take it up the hill to the house.

"That hampered their ability to get the fire out quickly."

The crew worked at the site until 12.30pm to ensure everything had been damped down.

Discover more

New Zealand

One hunter fails to walk out of Northland bush

02 Jul 02:58 AM
New Zealand|crime

Russell Rawiri hangs up his badge after 41 years

24 Jul 11:00 PM

Northland FENZ commander applauds volunteers

20 Jul 10:00 PM
Save
    Share this article

Latest from The Country

The Country

How love and laughter have sustained Neil and Zoe through the decades

Premium
The Country

'It was a shock': NZ trade group warns NZ will be worse off under 15% US tariff regime

The Country

'Warming trend': Short subtropical shift before sub-zero chill bites again


Sponsored

Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from The Country

How love and laughter have sustained Neil and Zoe through the decades
The Country

How love and laughter have sustained Neil and Zoe through the decades

Neil and Zoe Olsen are beloved in the Peria community.

04 Aug 07:00 PM
Premium
Premium
'It was a shock': NZ trade group warns NZ will be worse off under 15% US tariff regime
The Country

'It was a shock': NZ trade group warns NZ will be worse off under 15% US tariff regime

04 Aug 05:00 PM
'Warming trend': Short subtropical shift before sub-zero chill bites again
The Country

'Warming trend': Short subtropical shift before sub-zero chill bites again

04 Aug 05:00 PM


Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture
Sponsored

Kiss cams and passion cohorts: how brands get famous in culture

01 Aug 12:26 AM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP