Featherston house arson suspected
A fire that destroyed a house in Featherston is suspected to have been lit deliberately.
The house in Wallace St has been deserted for about three years, but it is thought squatters had been living there.
Featherston chief fire officer Colin McKenna said crews determined that the fire had started in two separate places in the kitchen area of the house.
‘‘The house is gone. It’s still standing, but it is really dangerous. If the wind gets up like it can around here, it could go over.
‘‘Two girls were seen leaving the house before the fire by a neighbour. I think police were hoping to speak to them,’’ McKenna said.
Neighbour Lindy Pacey said the house was an accident waiting to happen and had been deserted for about three years since the previous owner lost it to a mortgagee sale.
‘‘The new owner is a developer from Wellington, but they had done nothing with it, just left it there,’’ Pacey said.
‘‘A lot of us in the street had wanted something done about it for a long time. It was a fire risk, especially in summer and had other houses quite close to it.
‘‘Several of us in the street had contacted the council about the house, wanting something done.
‘‘The real shame is that the previous owner lost it in a mortgagee sale, he’ll be devastated. He really loved that house and looked after it well while he owned it.’’