House fire forces family to live in shed
The constant smell of charred wood and burnt plastic reminds aMasterton family of how close they came to tragedy.
Hunkered down in a 6-by-5 metre tin shed a few metres from the burnt-out shell of their house, Bianca Hawea, her two teenage sons and her partner, are trying to pull their lives back together.
The saving grace is the stream of support arriving at the Clyde St property, with friends, family and strangers bringing much needed supplies.
Hawea awoke around 5am on Sunday to the sound of what she thought were firecrackers going off in or near the house.
She got up and opened a door in the hallway and was confronted by a wall of flames reaching to the ceiling.
‘‘The heat was intense and I just ducked and went back down the hallway.’’
She screamed and woke up the three other occupants of the house who were all in separate rooms.
Her partner attempted to put out the flames with a bucket of water but immediately realised it was futile.
Within half-an-hour the house was gutted, with everything inside
completely destroyed despite Fire and Emergency’s efforts to get the blaze under control.
The family’s Ford Falcon station wagon, which was parked near the house, also sustained heat damage and could be written off.
They’d bought the car only three weeks prior and it was not insured.
The house was owned by Hawea’s late mother and was held in trust, and the family was not yet sure if it was insured.
Despite the huge financial cost of the fire, the biggest sentimental toll was the loss of family photos.
‘‘But you can’t put a price on our kids, and they all got out,’’ Hawea said.
The family had set up a sink and bench next to the shed and were able to prepare food, though fortunately a lot of kai had been dropped off by people in the community.
‘‘People we’ve never even met turning up with gift cards, food tables and other furniture.’’
Donna Gray, of nearby Te Awhina Community Hub, had also set up a Givealittle page for donations.
‘‘In the wake of this terrible event, it’s been absolutely overwhelming to see the aroha shown by the community towards Bianca and her family.’’
Gray said she had been fielding calls since Sunday with offers of help.
One of the most important items the family needed straight after the fire was bedding. Four beds were now butted up against each other in the modest garage.
The warmweather made the days outside bearable but it did make for a hot sleeping environment at night.
Hawea said they were determined to stay put, demolish the old house, which has been in the family for over 40 years, and replace it.
Fire and Emergency investigators told the family they believed the blaze was started by an old chest freezer with faulty electrics.