Suspicious fire handed over to police
A blaze that tore through the front of a family home is being treated as suspicious.
The fire broke out at a residential property on State Highway 56 in Longburn just after 10.30pm on Friday.
Two children were understood to be asleep inside at the time, and another of their siblings was also home.
They all managed to escape unharmed and crews brought the flames under control before the fire spread to the rest of the dwelling.
Fire and Emergency NZ assistant commander Craig Gold confirmed they responded to the structure fire.
He said investigation of the fire had been referred to the police criminal investigation branch as it was suspicious.
A police media spokesperson said police were investigating. No arrests had been made.
They were not able to answer questions about whether they were treating the fire as arson, whether the property was known to police or if there were any concerns for the family’s safety.
A givealittle page set up for the young siblings on Monday said they lived together after the death of their mother.
The oldest sibling had taken on fulltime care of the younger ones and although they had insurance, there was “severe structural damage” to the home.
It said there was smoke damage to the bedrooms and home’s contents, and the family was unable to move back in until it was repaired.
The page, which was created by Te Rau Olsen, said the work could take a while, and in the meantime the family were “running low on options”.
The family had lived in the home for several years and it was where the Manawatū Standard first met the Cades.
The children’s mother, Rebekah SandsCade, was diagnosed with terminal metastatic breast cancer when she was just 29.
In September 2017, she went public with her story in an attempt to raise enough money to pay for the drug Ibrance.
She also wanted Pharmac to see the difference the medication made, and three years later it announced it would fund the drug. It cost Sands-Cade $5900 a month.
At the time, her husband Alan Cade said renovations on the home had come to a halt as all money the family had went towards her treatment.
A givealittle page set up for her fight raised about $24,000, but Sands-Cade died in December 2017 at the age of 32.