Unoccupied Turakina farmhouse destroyed by fire

A large old wooden farmhouse near Turakina has been destroyed by fire.

Police passing on State Highway 3 noticed smoke from trees around an old house in Dalvey Rd and raised the alarm just after 1pm on Monday, August 26.

Two fire trucks and a tanker attended, Fire and Emergency Whanganui area commander Gary Ward said. They were volunteer crews from Marton and Koitiata, as well as a "career crew" from Whanganui.

By 2pm there was not much left of the house. Flames could be seen between the trees, and blue and black smoke rose in the air and was carried by a strong westerly wind. Wind carried the fire into some of the nearby trees.

Firefighters in yellow and khaki gear were everywhere, containing it with powerful jets of water from big hoses. Ward arrived in a separate car with red lights flashing, and owner Paul Simpson arrived on a four-wheeler.

A yellow tanker truck was emptied of water, and refilled. Firefighters also hooked a pump to an underground water tank and pumped out of that.

The house was one-storey and wooden, Simpson said. It was nearly 300 square metres in size, with three chimneys and wooden verandas that had all been filled in.

It was unoccupied but contained a lot of things, including a huge kauri dining table. It was his grandparents' house. It held a lot of memories for Simpson, who had spent all his life on the property.

The house was only insured as part of the farm.

"We are never going to rebuild it," Simpson said.

Ward had no idea how the fire started, but said power had been on at the house the day before.

He expected firefighters would be there for several hours, damping down the site and making sure the fire did not spread.

Firefighters managed to stop flames spreading through trees but could not save an old farmhouse near Turakina. Photo / Bevan Conley