Twin fires shock Wairarapa township
A 50-year-old woman has been charged with arson after two houses in the small Wairarapa town of Mauriceville burned down overnight on Wednesday.
Police and firefighters were called to the first blaze about 10.30pm on Wednesday. The next property, less than 100 metres away, burned down about 5.30am yesterday.
The two fires have come as a shock to the small rural community. One of the houses was owned by the woman in custody, the other by community stalwart Corrinne Oliver.
On Wednesday night, Oliver – like many other residents – arrived at the scene of the first blaze. There she found the home’s owner, watching the smouldering ruins.
‘‘I asked her if she had anywhere to stay and she said no. So I invited her over to have a cup of tea and spend the night,’’ Oliver said.
The pair went back to Oliver’s place, located across the road from Mauriceville School. After a quick visit by police, the two women went to bed, with the visitor using the sleepout at the back of the house.
Early yesterday, Oliver woke to the sound of a smoke alarm. ‘‘I thought [she] was cooking toast and had set the fire alarm off, so I went downstairs to check on her.’’
She saw the front door of the house wide open and a fire in full swing. Oliver quickly escaped, as did husband Bruce and daughter Chance.
‘‘If the fire alarm hadn’t gone off, we would have died,’’ she said. ‘‘No question.’’
Neighbours later gathered in disbelief at the razed house where Oliver had lived for nearly 27 years.
She pointed out precious mementoes, most of them barely discernable in the thick grey ash. Aside from a pair of boots and the dressing gown she fled the house in, she had lost everything.
‘‘It’s just surreal,’’ Oliver said, wiping tears from her eyes. ‘‘I’m the sort of person who’s always helped people ... I just can’t understand why you’d do this to someone.
‘‘That stuff is irreplaceable, but at least we’ve got each other.’’
The arrested woman, who was understood to have been caught behind the school, was a homeowner in the town, though none of the locals spoken to yesterday by The Dominion Post knew her.
‘‘I’d never seen her before in my life,’’ Oliver said.
Police confirmed a 50-year-old woman from Mauriceville had been arrested on arson-related charges. They are still investigating the fires.
The arrested woman was to appear in Masterton District Court today.