Historic house gutted by fire
A human chain of firefighters and farm workers dragged furniture out of a beloved historic house before the roof collapsed and the property was engulfed by flames.
Smoke billowed through Kaituna Valley, in Banks Peninsula near Christchurch, as fire ravaged the rural property on Monday. When the ceiling gave way, the chimney crashed down and the shell of the century-old family home was quickly blackened.
Farm workers bolted down the hill to help the paraplegic homeowner, David Thomas, to safety.
Serious injury support worker Cath Scarlett said she and Thomas had been sitting in the ‘‘man cave’’, watching the America’s Cup, when they heard a scuffle on the roof.
‘‘We thought it was a possum on the roof, then it got a bit louder and we just looked at each other.
‘‘I went into the dining room to look around because it sounded like bubbling water. Then the power went off and the lights went out, and water from the burst hot water cylinder streamed through the roof.’’
By the time the farm workers charged in the house was pitch black and alarms were screaming.
Thomas become paraplegic after an accident about five years ago and there was a warning alarm fitted to several items of furniture. A St John alarm had also been triggered.
Scarlett and the farm manager helped wheel Thomas, 74, outside. He was unharmed but the house was left little more than a blackened pile of rubble and corrugated iron.
The Thomas family had lived at the property for over 40 years.
Brent Thomas said he and his sister, Anna, spent their childhood in the valley’s tight-knit community and his father planned to celebrate his 75th birthday there next week.
‘‘It’s such a shame to see such a big old house like that just up in flames. Mum died 11 years ago so the house held a lot of memories of her for dad; it’s pretty surreal that it’s gone.’’
A few paintings had been saved, and staff, family and firefighters banded together to lug three ‘‘bloody heavy’’ sideboards outside. A crane, used for maneuvering David Thomas, medicine and a specialist bed were also wheeled out, but everything else was gone.
Little River chief fire officer Dave Irving said he had attended small yard fires at the property before, which made it more difficult to see the destruction.
‘‘We’ve always identified that house as a really nice house and something that we would hate to see catch fire because we knew that by the time we got to it there was a big chance we wouldn’t be able to save it.’’
He said when he arrived, the house was ‘‘perfectly pristine’’. ‘‘We were inside trying to get into the crawl space and see if we could do anything there and it was all to no avail.’’
It was difficult to pull back, as the Thomas family had supported the brigade in the past and there were members who had worked on the farm, he said.
‘‘Our job is to save things like that, not to watch them burn.
‘‘It just feels absolutely gutting when you’ve just got to retreat and stand there and watch it.’’
Lincoln deputy chief fire officer Roger McLenaghen was in the third truck to get to the blaze and said he saw it far before they got to the house.
‘‘There was just smoke everywhere . . . it was just billowing out.
‘‘It’s certainly one of the biggest house fires I’ve seen.’’
The house was almost 120 years old and had recently undergone significant earthquake repairs.
McLenaghen said most of the walls were jib, so it burnt much the same as a new house.
A fire investigator was at the scene yesterday. The cause of the fire was expected to be known today.
‘‘It’s such a shame to see such a big old house like that just up in flames . . . It’s pretty surreal that it’s gone.’’ Brent Thomas