Occupants flee before blaze guts Stoke house
It took firefighters two hours to contain a blaze which gutted a home in Stoke on Saturday morning.
Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade deputy chief Lance Williams said the brigade was notified of the fire in Nayland Rd at 6.06am.
When firefighters arrived, they found the two-storey house well ablaze.
Williams said it took six fire engines from Stoke, Nelson and Richmond and firefighters using breathing apparatus two hours to get the fire under control.
‘‘Being a two-storey house that was well involved, it was a bit of a hard task,’’ he said.
‘‘[The fire] was going pretty intensely.’’
Williams said the house’s occupants were asleep when the fire started, but all managed to get out safely before firefighters arrived, thanks to working smoke alarms.
‘‘They have played their part and saved lives today.
‘‘It was very lucky the family managed to get out thanks to the smoke alarms.’’
St John Ambulance spokeswoman Neha Concisom said one person with minor injuries was assessed by paramedics and was not taken to hospital.
Fire investigators from Blenheim and Greymouth were still at the house on Saturday afternoon, working to ascertain the cause of the fire.
Police were also notified and arrived at the scene on Saturday afternoon to assist the fire investigators.