Night fire guts home in Levin
A fire ripped through a home near Levin, but everyone got out safely.
The fire on Saturday night was too intense for firefighters to enter the building and Levin firefighters were backed up by brigades from Shannon and Waita¯rere, and water tankers were called in to help.
The fire was at Kawiu Rd, between Lindsay and Tiro Tiro roads, and firefighters were called to the scene at 8.30pm.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman Belinda Beets said the house was well ablaze when firefighters arrived, and everybody inside was believed to be out by then.
Levin chief fire officer Lindsay Walker said one of the occupants was injured getting out of the house, but it wasn’t as a direct result of the fire.
Police cordoned off the street to keep the public clear while firefighters battled the blaze.
Beets said the fire was too intense for firefighters to get inside, and two fire trucks from Shannon and Waita¯rere joined the two Levin trucks to contain the fire from the outside while they waited for water tankers.
The water tankers got to the property at 10pm.
Walker said dampening down hot spots was difficult because of damage to the house ‘‘The roof had collapsed, so we didn’t want to risk injury [to] firefighters.’’
A fire safety officer was to examine the site yesterday to investigate the cause of the blaze.