Heat gun sets off blaze in old villa

DANGER: Firefighters quickly get under control a house fire sparked by a heat gun. Fire Service officer Jemal Weston said people using heat guns needed to be especially careful when using them on old villas. PHOTOS/STUART MUNRO 120315WCSMFIRE1

A heat gun used to strip paint is being blamed for a house fire in Anzac Parade.

Wanganui Senior Station Officer Jemal Weston said a renovator was "doing a bit of a repaint on the old villa" using a heated paint-stripper gun and the heat had started a fire behind the wall.

Firefighters had to remove the exterior wall cladding to put out the fire, which started in a house at the Putiki end of the road.

A house fire in Tawhero last month was also caused by a heat gun.

Mr Weston said the latest fire was "once again a serious reminder that using heat strippers to remove paint off a house, especially on an old villa, can go wrong".

"The fire has the ability to happen at the time but it also has the ability to happen some time later." That was due to smouldering embers, he said.

"One room is smoke damaged," he added. The exterior cladding would also need to be replaced. The owner of the house was away and was not the one using the heat gun, he said.

He also advised anyone using a heat gun should do it earlier in the day, so a fire did not start at night time.

Four fire appliances turned up to the house and one lane of the road was closed off.