Fireworks let off prior to ‘gnarly’ house fire
PARTYGOERS fought to douse flames that had engulfed a Christchurch home using a garden hose, but their efforts were in vain.
Residents heard fireworks being let off at the property before the fire began about 12.45am yesterday.
There was a suggestion that some people might have been throwing them at each other.
Police said it was too early to say what caused the blaze, which completely destroyed the rear of the home in Champion St, Edgeware. They urged anyone who was at the party to come forward and speak to them.
Detectives and a fire service investigator were at the scene yesterday morning. It is understood there was a birthday party at the home. Dozens of people in their late teens and 20s were in attendance. A party bus had visited the property twice.
An occupant of the home, Zach Williams, said six people lived at the property. Some of them were foreign backpackers.
Williams said he was unsure how the fire started. People had been throwing fireworks at each other earlier in the evening, but not when the fire ignited.
‘‘I have a feeling it may have been a spark board. It was real old.’’
The fire had not damaged Williams’ bedroom, but his other flatmates were not so lucky. ‘‘It [the fire] was pretty gnarly,’’ he said.
Champion St resident Gerald Ginther said he was woken by the sound of an explosion. He looked out the window to see flames leaping high in the air.
‘‘There was lots of banging
and yelling . . . and panicking going on.’’
Earlier in the evening, there had been dozens of people partying at the property. ‘‘It was a pretty loud party and it had quite a chilling aftermath.’’
Another resident, Patricia Hanson, said she was woken from her sleep by partygoers banging on her door telling her ‘‘get out, there’s a fire’’.
‘‘Flames were shooting right [my] driveway by that time.’’
At one point the wind fanned the fire into trees close to her home and she feared it would also be destroyed.
‘‘I was like ‘oh my God, my place is next’. That was terrifying.’’
Another resident, Mark
across
Bergman, said he was also alerted to the fire by partygoers. ‘‘It [the fire] sounded like an earthquake. Just the sounds of all the crackling and the building twisting.
‘‘It was ejecting out the windows almost like a flame thrower.’’
A fire service spokesman said it was initially feared people were trapped inside the house, but everyone was eventually accounted for. No-one was injured.
Police were called to control partygoers who had spilled out on to the street. Firefighters remained at the scene until shortly after 5am. Detective Sergeant James Simpson said it was too early to say how the fire started.