Naked woman forced to jump for her life from second storey window to escape Whangamatā house fire, man charged with arson

Fire and Emergency New Zealand received several reports regarding a fire in Hauturu St.

A naked woman enjoying a hot bath was forced to jump for her life from a second-storey window to escape a house fire last night moments before the property was consumed by flames.

The woman - who uses a mobility scooter due to medical problems - was having a bath in the Whangamatā property’s second floor when the fire took hold about 9pm last night.

A man has since been charged with arson and was set to appear today in Hamilton District Court.

Local residents heard sirens and rushed to the scene to find the unclothed woman leaning out the window as her house burned and the flames licked at her bathroom door.

One of the residents who responded said rescuers called for her to jump for her life. With no other choice, she leapt from the window, and an orange tree broke her fall.

“Her house was on fire. She was inside but she had to get out and that was the only way out.

“There were men there trying to catch her. She is so lucky. Even my husband said, ‘How on earth did she get out of that window’?”

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) received several reports regarding a fire in Hauturu St shortly after 9pm.

Photos from social media show the house with yellow flames and plumes of smoke billowing from it.

A Fenz spokesperson said it took four firefighters less than 30 minutes to extinguish the blaze.

Four fire engines were dispatched to the scene, and the blaze was being treated as suspicious.

The Whangamatā home was badly damaged in the fire.

The neighbour told the Herald the woman had owned the house for about 10 years.

She used a mobility scooter because of health problems the neighbour said.

The neighbour said she was at home when she heard sirens and a loud “bang”.

She noticed the woman’s house was on fire.

“Fear and adrenaline” kicked in, she said.

“I just ran over and like everyone else was telling her to jump.

“It was two storeys so she had to jump from the window.

“There were other neighbours there with ladders. She knew help was there and that was her only way out. She had no choice.

“She jumped out and the tree broke her fall.

“It wasn’t long after she got out that the flames just devoured the house in a matter of seconds.”

Fire and Emergency is treating the blaze as suspicious.

The woman was “quite lucid” and appeared uninjured but had been taken to Thames Hospital for observation, the neighbour said.

She was wet and had no clothes after jumping from the window. Rescuers had wrapped her in a blanket.

“She was more worried that she was naked.”

As people were tending to the woman, overhead power lines began to flicker so several men picked the woman up and moved her across the road.

The woman was retired and lived alone but it’s understood a man had been staying in the house with her for about the past week.

The neighbour described the woman as “amazing”, and very community-minded. She was always helping other people in need.

“She is just a really lovely soul.”

But she had been left with nothing, not even the clothes on her back. Her home and all her belongings were completely destroyed.

A 66-year-old man has been charged with arson following the blaze.

A police spokesperson said the man was due in the Hamilton District Court today.