‘A monumental effort’: Whanganui firefighters work through night but home destroyed by fire

The aftermath of a fire that engulfed a home on Hinemoa St, Whanganui East, on Saturday night. Photo/ Eva de Jong

A Whanganui East home was severely damaged after a large fire that had 12 firefighters working until 3am on Sunday to control it.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said fire services were called to a fully-involved house fire on Hinemoa St, Whanganui East at 10.26pm on Saturday.

The house was “severely damaged”, he said.

Whanganui Fire Brigade station officer Jason Rattray said the single-level dwelling was fully involved in fire when 12 firefighters and three fire engines arrived at the scene.

“It was a bit of a monumental effort,” Rattray said.

A car was also caught in the blaze that ripped through the home. Photo / Eva de Jong

The main building on the property was consumed by flames in the rear half of the home, with a shed and at least one car also involved in the fire.

“The house itself wasn’t occupied at the time of the fire, although there were two dogs on the premises.”

Rattray said he understood the dogs had not been harmed.

Inside the burnt remains of the home. Photo / Eva de Jong

Due to the proximity of neighbouring properties, firefighters had to work extremely hard to stop the fire from spreading to other homes, he said.

“It was quite a difficult fire to put out, and because obviously the heat of the fire meant that everything surrounding it gained a lot more heat.

“The guys were heavily involved and it took lots of water.”

The leftovers of an oven, microwave and fridge following the fire. Photo / Eva de Jong

The three appliances stayed at the scene for the duration of the fire.

“There were multiple exposure fires within the property, and it was one of our priorities to just try to make sure those fires didn’t exit the property,” Rattray said.

“A lot of work needs to be done in that space to be able to manage fire that is that well-involved.”

A specialist fire investigator is determining the cause of the blaze.

Eva de Jong is a reporter for the Whanganui Chronicle covering health stories and general news. She began as a reporter in 2023.