‘My home is no more’
Woman escapes fire with her life, but loses everything else
ANorthland grandmother is devastated after losing everything to a fire in her Hikurangi home.
“I still can’t get over the shock that my home is no more,” 53-year-old Sara D’Ath said.
Fire and Emergency crew were called to her two-storey property at King St about 5am on February 4.
A Givealittle page has since been set up to support her.
D’Ath remembers watching a movie before going upstairs to bed, then waking up to a house filled with “suffocating” smoke.
She credits a man who stays on her farm property for saving her life.
“He was watching television at my place when he noticed the fire, woke me up and got me out of the house.”
Firefighters arrived at the scene and provided her with comfort after her loss.
She remembers sitting behind a fire truck and hearing her house “explode” several times.
“I felt so heartbroken. Never in a million years did I think this would happen,” she said.
After she filled in her daughter and son on what happened, she was approached by Women’s Refuge who offered her some clothes and a lift to her friend’s home on the outskirts of Hikurangi — where she now temporarily lives.
Despite losing her home, she is grateful to have survived.
D’Ath has had her fair share of personal hardships to overcome.
Over the years, she has been diagnosed with Lupus, a disease where the body’s immune system attacks its tissue and organs, and later osteoporosis (brittle bones) after she fell and broke her femur.
One of the biggest blows came about six years ago when she was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer.
“Back then, I was working for an oyster factory. I didn’t know anything was wrong until I went for a mammogram and got the terrible news.
“But I beat the odds after I had a mastectomy and was given another chance in life.”
D’Ath said her resilience to “stay positive and strong” comes from her dad who passed away 18 months ago.
She remembers him as someone who celebrated life and reminisced about the “good old days” when she used to help him with his barbecue.
“I had all his stuff like the handcrafted boat, photographs and his necklace he gifted to me years ago. But all that now is burnt into bits.”
D’Ath said the Hikurangi residence she moved into six years ago was “more than a house” to her.
“It was a home for my children and six grandchildren who used to come to celebrate Christmas and birthday parties every year. Now we can’t even do that anymore.”
D’Ath thanked the firefighters and the community for showing their support and hopes to rebuild her life.