Sleeping girls burnt in Katikati caravan blaze

Two young girls were asleep in a caravan that went up in flames in the western Bay of Plenty.

The seven and nine year old were taken to Tauranga Hospital with burns and smoke inhalation following the blaze at a rural property near Katikati late Monday. Firefighters were called to the fire on Rereatukahia Rd just before 11pm on Monday night.

‘‘By the time we got there, there was very little left of the caravan,’’ Katikati Volunteer Fire Brigade senior firefighter Brendan Gibbs said yesterday.

‘‘It was still in flames but there was only really the tyres and structure of the caravan left.’’

You only get a minute and a half before a structure such as a caravan becomes engulfed in flames, he said.

Someone had managed to get the two girls, who were sleeping in the caravan, out before firefighters arrived. There were several caravans side by side on the property, and Gibbs understood there had been some older teenagers and adults nearby.

A tangi was happening at the local marae up the road, and those attending may have been staying at the property, he said.

‘‘When the siren went off they were just finishing their karakia.’’

With no power supply to the caravans, it was possible the fire ignited through a candle and LPG bottle. A fire investigator would be looking into the cause of the blaze.

Gibbs said firefighters trekked down a gravel driveway and two paddocks to reach the caravan. They treated the two girls for burns until ambulance staff arrived. A St John spokesperson said two people – both children – were taken to Tauranga Hospital in a moderate condition.