Whanganui family of six overwhelmed by community support after traumatic house fire

Tom Crook (left) and Emma-Jayne Turnbull-Crook have been overwhelmed by support after a fire at their Alexander St home. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

A devastating house fire in Whanganui has left a family heartbroken and unsure about their next steps.

The June 10 fire was on Alexander St in central Whanganui.

Emma-Jayne Turnbull-Crook and Tom Crook escaped with their two children, Turnbull-Crook’s father and two dogs.

Their niece, who lives with them, was not there that night.

The fire was believed to have started in recycling bins at the home’s back door, according to the fire investigator.

Turnbull-Crook awoke to the sound of what she thought was someone having a midnight snack.

“When I woke up, I thought somebody was eating chips because I could hear really loud crackling and thought they were in my doorway,” she said.

“I got up and there was nobody there so I came out of the doorway and in the corner of my eye I saw red.

“I pulled the curtain back, just a smidgen, and I just saw a humongous fire.”

She alerted her husband, Tom, who kicked into action, ripped the fire extinguisher off the wall and

The barbecue gas bottle was making a “loud wooshing sound”, which blew a large flame into the garden, prompting Tom to order Turnbull-Crook to get the children, exit the house and ring 111.

“It went so fast. From getting told ‘get out’ to getting out the front doorstep and seeing all my neighbours running to the house to see if we were all out,” Turnbull-Crook said.

“It was so big and loud that my neighbours heard the roaring - it just went up.”

Turnbull-Crook said she freaked out so much that she ran back inside to salvage what she could.

“I was so taken by it that I forgot and I was wondering why there were flames coming out of my wall - it was almost like I was hypnotised by the smoke,” she said.

The fire has left the family traumatised and unsure where to go from here. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

Since the fire, it has been difficult for the family to move on.

“It’s still very stressful, I don’t like looking at my house like this - it’s very, very heartbreaking,” Turnbull-Crook said.

“The smells just brings back everything. Even standing here now, I think I’m looking at a red glow in the corner of my eye.”

They said it had been a day-to-day battle to comfort their children aged 6 and 3.

“He [6-year-old] constantly asks us about his friends’ houses and says, ‘are they going to burn down today?’,” Turnbull-Crook said.

“We are trying to explain to him that it doesn’t happen like that, a fire does not choose to go to a home and destroy people’s lives.”

Their 3-year-old daughter was struggling to make sense of the traumatic experience.

“She says, ‘we in fire, I safe now’, and I say ‘we are safe baby, we’re not in our house any more’,” Turnbull-Crook said.

“When we get to a point of the house, she won’t go past it, there is no way she’ll come into the house.”

The family have lost deceased relatives’ mementoes, baby photos, toys and clothes.

They were grateful for the community support they have received from the community, in particular, Fulton Hogan, St Andrew’s Presbyterian Church and their friend Grace Warahi.

They said the Tofa family, who run River City Boxing and RF Maintenance, had been incredible with their support.

The couple, who moved to Whanganui from Cambridge two years ago, said the Whanganui support was unmatched.

“The community support around here has engulfed us. It’s beautiful and a blessing to see how the community has gotten together to see what they can do,” Turnbull-Crook said.

“It’s overwhelming but beautiful at the same time; we would have never had this in Cambridge, here it’s just different.”

The fire is believed to have started in the recycling bins outside the back door. Photo / Fin Ocheduszko Brown

The family was struggling to be on the receiving end of support.

“We have never been in this position, we are normally the ones offering the help so it is a hard pill for myself and Tom to swallow, taking donations, taking love and support,” Turnbull-Crook said.

“There are so many people that we need to thank but we just can’t enough - we are not going to be able to repay them.”

Turnbull-Crook stressed the importance of separating recycling so what they experienced did not happen to another family.

“If we had been in here 30 seconds more, we would have been gone,” she said.

“There wouldn’t be any time, so whatever or whoever woke me up that morning to check what that sound was saved our lives.”

Warahi has set up a Givealittle page (givealittle.co.nz/cause/up-in-flames-for-family-of-6) to get support for the family.

“Anything whatsoever is helpful, it’s appreciated, it’s everything to our family - we have quite literally lost everything, except for our lives,” Turnbull-Crook said.

Fin Ocheduszko Brown is a multimedia journalist based in Whanganui.