Waikato dad crawls through home to rescue baby daughter from devastating house fire

Courtney and Daniel Thomas with their children Landen, Addilynn and Mason (L-R). Photo / Supplied

A Waikato woman could only watch in horror as her husband burst into their burning home and crawled through thick smoke to get to their 1-year-old daughter.

The blaze, which engulfed the converted shed on a property in rural Gordonton, broke out just after 5pm on Friday.

Speaking to the Herald on Saturday, Courtney Thomas said the fire had gutted the home she shared with her husband, Daniel, and their three children.

The 25-year-old had been over at the main house on the property, where Daniel's parents live, with the pair's twin toddlers while Daniel came and went from the shed.

He had spent the afternoon hanging a new air conditioning unit.

Meanwhile, their 13-month-old daughter Addilynn was snoozing in one of the bedrooms in their converted shed.

Courtney said the family's home has been gutted by the blaze, which broke out early on Friday evening. Photo / Supplied

"I had just bought the twins some new toys and they had decided they wanted to go over to there to show their poppa's house to show him the toys," Courtney said.

She was sitting outside the main house with several of Daniel's family members, when everyone started to realise something was wrong.

Daniel had just come outside to tell Courtney he had finished, then went back over to the shed to pick up a few items he had left behind.

"Around this time we saw smoke… Daniel's uncle made a comment about it and then we heard Daniel yell something and he started running.

"He had heard the fire alarm - he could hear it beeping through the wall of the shed."

Courtney said Daniel ran back to the main house and yelled something to them before dashing to the front door of their home. She was hot on his heels.

"He opened the door and all you could see was black."

"He just ran straight in and as I watched him go I saw a glass panel by our door shatter."

Daniel had dropped to his knees once inside the house and crawled through the black smoke to get to his daughter's room.

Daniel Thomas raced through the home on his hands and knees until he got to Addilynn's room. Photo / Supplied

Courtney watched with her heart in her mouth, then ran around to her daughter's window herself.

By the time she got there, Daniel had grabbed little Addi and the pair had escaped out the window.

It was terrifying, Courtney, said, to think about what could have happened.

"The fire investigator was saying that if Daniel had tried to go back through the front door, he wouldn't have got out."

"He wouldn't have made it."

A spokesman from Fire and Emergency New Zealand confirmed they were called to the scene, on Woodlands Rd, around 5.15pm.

Three fire trucks attended the blaze, he said, which had all but engulfed the house upon their arrival.

While the young family had escaped injury, Courtney said they had lost near everything in the blaze.

Daniel and his father were assisted by by passers and firefighters in pulling a few possessions out of their garage - which included an old car Daniel had been gifted by his grandfather.

But everything related to their life now, had either burnt or was badly water damaged.

The family was staying with friends on the weekend and also had a base back at Daniels' parents home.

A silver lining was in the generosity of the Gordonton community, which had pulled together to help the family with clothing, blankets and other essentials.

"The whole community has just been amazing," Courtney said.

"People we don't even know have come in to drop stuff off and the school that we live across from is doing a big fundraising drive."

"None of our kids even go to the school."

Courtney wanted others to recognise how crucial smoke alarms had been in their story, in saving the life of their daughter.

The cause of the fire was under investigation.