Stolen car burns, starts house fire, ends up ‘melted’

A stolen car was torched in the driveway of a near-by property, setting the house alight.

The car was stolen in the early hours of October 18 from Schnapper Rock, near Albany, where its owner Jamie Staines was staying.

Staines received a call at 2.30am from a friend, whose name the car was registered in.

‘‘He rang me and said ‘Why am I getting a call about your car being on fire?’ I thought he was joking,’’ Staines said.

‘‘He rang me again and said ‘Just do me a favour and go outside and have a look.’ As I went out, there was a fire truck going past.’’

Staines said his truck had been driven less than a kilometre away and then ‘‘turned to melted mush’’.

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said she was woken at about 1.40am to a horn sounding.

‘‘I looked out but didn’t see anyone or anything,’’ she said.

‘‘Then it stopped and then started up again about five minutes later and did not stop. Then we heard someone scream: ’The house is on fire’.’’

The witness said by the time emergency services had arrived, the fire was quickly spreading into the garage of the house.

Albany station officer Athol Conway said crews were called to the blaze shortly before 2am.

‘‘When we arrived there, there was a stolen vehicle on fire,’’ he said.

Conway said the house had smoke alarms so everyone got out and crews left the incident at 3.30am.

The attached garage was burned but the main part of the house was relatively unscathed.

Detective Senior Sergeant Andrew Murdoch of the Waitemata¯ Police said police were investigating the incident.

‘‘The [stolen] vehicle was then driven a short distance down the road and parked in a residential driveway, hitting the garage door

‘‘We heard someone scream: 'The house is on fire'.’’

Neighbour

before it was set alight,’’ Murdoch said.

‘‘Police are investigating whether several other vehicles broken into around the same time are linked.’’

Staine’s partner Kelsey Townshend said she had heard about two break-ins in the area including her father’s car.

Murdoch asked anyone with information to help the investigation to call police on 09 839 0600 or anonymously call Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.

SUPPLIED A house fire in Albany was caused by a stolen car set alight.