Fireplace ashes spark house blaze
Fireplace ashes improperly disposed of sparked a house fire that nearly killed the elderly man who lived there.
Denis Rasmussen, 89, lost his home and possessions in what one neighbour called a ‘‘ball of fire’’ on Wednesday morning.
The McClure St, Pirongia, house was ablaze when a smoke alarm roused Denis around 4am and got him down the stairs and out of the house. He suffered mild shock and was treated for smoke inhalation.
His son, Stephen Rasmussen, said the loss of personal items would be hard on his father.
‘‘He’s fine, he’s just trying to deal with the change. The house is gone, everything’s gone. It’s more about the personal items, the old photographs and paintings, he’s never going to get that back. That’s what he’s trying to deal with.’’
Stephen said Denis would live with him for now.
‘‘We don’t really want to comment much about what’s happened. He’s safe, it’s an accident that’s happened, it’s sad, but the sun’s still coming up in the morning.’’
Fire investigator Ross Fleet said the fire was caused by ashes disposed of in an inappropriate way. Fleet would not provide details.
‘‘Ashes should be in a metal container, and they should be disposed of in an area where there’s no likelihood that they would cause a fire,’’ he said.
Denis Rasmussen has recently replaced his log fire and installed smoke alarms, Fleet said.
‘‘The only reason that he escaped from that building was that those smoke alarms gave him an alert early enough that he could get down the internal stairs and out of the building.
‘‘The house was quite full of smoke, so at 89 years old, he was lucky to escape alive.’’ It was a timely reminder, he said. ‘‘As winter approaches, we need to be extremely vigilant with what we do with the ashes from our log and open fires.’’
Neighbours were alerted to the blaze by a barking dog just after 4am on Wednesday.
One neighbour who did not wish to be named said the ‘‘ball of fire’’ could be felt in her home 30 metres away.
‘‘It was massive. It heated up our whole house - it was just a glow.’’
Eight fire trucks from around the region responded and the fire was under control by 7am.
‘‘It’s gone, the whole lot, except for the brick underneath,’’ the neighbour said. The latest data from the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) shows tourism spend in the Waikato will be $2.5 billion for the year to April, an eight per cent rise from the year to April 2016. International visitors were responsible for $664 million of this spend, a rise of 16 per cent from the year prior. Domestic tourists spent $1.8 billion, up five per cent from the year prior. The Hamilton City Council is asking for feedback on proposed changes to improve safety on several Hamilton streets. The changes include proposals for variable or permanent speed limits of 40km/h outside some schools. Proposed changes would affect Kimbrae Dr outside Rototuna Junior and Senior High Schools, North City Road & Borman Rd, Borman Rd and Hare Puke Dr, Endeavour Ave, Te Kowhai Rd East, Rotokauri Rd, Knox St, Wairere Dr and Masters Ave. Submissions close on June 9. The recent extreme weather events over the last month caused flood damage at Williamson Park in Whangamata. Engineers have begun work to mitigate future flooding issues to properties in the Williamson Park vicinity. Machinery will be on site shortly to clear the stormwater pond of vegetation and silt build-up along the face of the weir. It is expected to be completed by mid-June, weather permitting.