One man dead after house fire in Ashhurst home
A man has died after a house fire in Ashhurst, near Palmerston North.
Fire Service central communications shift manager Belinda Beets said fire crews arrived at the scene about 4am on Monday after reports of smoke in the area.
It was then discovered a house was on fire on Wyndham St.
Manawatu area commander Mitchell Brown said the fire seemed to have started downstairs in the two-storey home. He said they had received a call that there was smoke in the area.
‘‘So when the crews arrived there was fire just breaking out of the upstairs window.’’
The fire seemed to have started close to a woodburner fire on the first floor, which would be looked at during the investigation, Brown said.
He said the fire had burnt out the stairs in the home and smoke had spread up to the second floor where the deceased had been sleeping. There were no smoke alarms in the home.
‘‘If you don’t have smoke alarms, you don’t stand a chance.
‘‘The deceased has missed out on being alerted.
‘‘When you’re asleep all your senses go into sleep mode as well and your only voice is your smoke alarm.
A neighbour to the property, who did not wish to be named, said she had known the occupant for more than 20 years. She said she had heard a loud noise, which woke her up. The explosion sounded like a shotgun.
‘‘The next-door neighbours called [the fire brigade].
‘‘She could see from her window.’’
Another neighbour, Steve Wilkinson, said he woke up about 4am after hearing the fire trucks. ‘‘Just a fair bit of light and noise from here because the wind was going in [the other] direction, but we could smell it.’’
Wilkinson said fire crews had arrived at the scene quickly. ‘‘I looked out and saw a little bit of light in one window, but the fire truck was already there.’’
In a statement, police said the only person at the property was found dead.