Volunteer firefighter’s home gutted
The family of one of the firefighting fraternity’s own have been overwhelmed with support after losing their home in a fire.
Stoke volunteer firefighter Simon Rees was at work in Appleby on Thursday afternoon when his flatmate called to say smoke was coming from the ceiling of their kitchen. Then his pager went off.
‘‘I always said, ‘I hope that my pager never goes off and it’s my address on it’, but it happened.
‘‘I’m just still coming to terms with it all. It’s hard.’’
Rees jumped in the car, and halfway to home, he saw the smoke change from black to white, which he knew meant the house was being doused with water.
‘‘I turned up, watching my mates trying to put it out. It is pretty devastating, actually.
‘‘I got here, there were still plumes of smoke. Firefighters had only just made entry by that stage. There was only so much they could do.’’
The house was gutted, and Rees, his partner Sian Kerr and their flatmates lost everything, apart from some jewellery that survived the heat, a few mementoes, and some melted pieces of Lego ‘‘that might sit on a shelf one day’’.
The couple had insurance, but Rees said they lost sentimental belongings that could not be replaced, which was hard to deal with.
‘‘Stoke has looked after us since it happened ... massively, actually, so I’ll give them as much credit as I can. It’s a real family down there.
‘‘Offering us homes and food and everything you could imagine, it is overwhelming, to say the least. It’s hard to put into words.’’
Rees and Kerr said they wanted to share the fire safety messages that were even more important in the wake of the tragedy.
‘‘Get your smoke alarms checked – call the fire brigade if you are not sure’’ Rees said. ‘‘It doesn’t cost you anything. You could lose lives, you could lose a house. It is just a nobrainer to go and get them checked.’’
‘‘Have a plan, talk to your kids, plan what you are going to do – because these things do happen and it could be you tomorrow.’’
The home, which is owned by Rees’ parents, was insured.
Kerr said it was ‘‘heartwrenching’’ to look at the charred remains of the house, but they had been ‘‘completely overwhelmed’’ by the support of the community.
‘‘The Stoke fire brigade have just gone above and beyond for us, and we don’t even know where to begin to say thanks to everyone that has offered places to stay, items of furniture, household items, clothing, toys for the kids.’’
The couple are staying with relatives, and have limited space to store donated items. A Givealittle page has been set up to support the family. It had raised $3850 in 19 hours.
Fire and Emergency NZ fire investigator Craig Piner said yesterday the cause of the fire was still under investigation, but it looked like it had been caused by an electrical issue.
Stoke Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Lance Williams said Rees had been a volunteer firefighter with the brigade for the last year and had recently finished his recruits course.
The house was engulfed in flames when firefighters arrived on the scene after 3pm on Thursday.
Williams said he had been inundated with offers of support for the family from across the district.
‘‘People have been ringing up from all over the place, the Fenz family and neighbouring brigades. The community have been absolutely awesome.
‘‘It’s been vast and varied. Anything and everything has been offered – steaks and sausages for the freezer, beds and TVs.
‘‘We are really grateful to the community for the support that has been shown,’’ Williams said.
‘‘If nothing else, it has shown how so many people, at such short notice, can be so outstanding.’’
‘‘I turned up, watching my mates trying to put it out. It is pretty devastating.’’
Simon Rees