Fire in empty house deemed suspicious
Pillars of smoke billowed into the night sky as flames engulfed a house in Palmerston North.
Glass shattered on Thursday night as the fire leapt from its windows, tearing through its weatherboard shell. The derelict house now stands skeletal on Highbury’s Monrad st, drawing the eyes of passersby as they stop to take in the destruction.
It’s the third suspicious fire at abandoned houses in Palmerston North during the past two months.
Firefighters from Milson and Palmerston North stations rushed to the blaze just after 10pm after neighbours raised the alarm.
As the fire raged, huge fireballs erupted as firefighters wrangled the flames for almost an hour before the fire was suppressed.
Neighbours, who did not want to be identified, said it was common for people to go onto the property and break windows and spray tag. A sleeping bag and spaghetti cans had been seen in a shed out the back.
Graffiti and gang slogans painted the walls inside, one said. A swastika decorated the rear of the house.
But while the house had been empty for more than a year, the front lawn and berm was routinely mowed, another said.
Firefighters have been called to the property before for rubbish fires at the rear of the house.
Abandoned houses appear to have been easy targets in the city over the past two months.
On March 21 an empty house on Church St between Albert St and Victoria Ave was destroyed in a suspicious fire.
On April 12 another abandoned dwelling fire a few houses down was also deemed suspicious.
Police investigating the blaze said a man was seen running away from the property as it burned.
There were no laws officials coudl use to take action when properties were unoccupied, unless they were deemed unsanitary or dangerous, a Palmerston North City Council spokesperson said.
It was the responsibility of the owners to protect houses and ensure they were secure.
Palmerston North Fire and Emergency senior station officer Chris Faithful said other than educating people on fire safety, there was not much they could do to prevent abandoned houses being targeted.
House fires pose a high risk of setting nearby homes alight and sending toxic smoke plumes into communities.
When attending fires at family homes, firefighters would typically find out swiftly how many people were on the property, but when a house was abandoned, they were never sure if the property was clear, Faithful said.