Family lose everything in blaze
"Where do we live, where do we go?" Katrina Prest
A North Canterbury man tried to smother a fire in his house with a blanket before he and his son fled.
Shane Prest said he and his family had lost everything in the White St, Rangiora blaze yesterday.
Prest and his teenage son Cameron were at their Housing New Zealand (HNZ) home when the fire started about 9.30am.
‘‘I just heard the smoke alarms go off, I went for a look around as they have gone off for no reason before,’’ Prest said.
‘‘I saw the fire in the boys’ room. Cameron was in the shower. I banged on the door and told him to get dressed and get out. I grabbed a blanket and tried to put the fire out, but it was too far gone so we raced outside.’’
Louise Knight was on a bus when she saw the flames and yelled at the driver to stop and let her off.
‘‘I banged on the door to check no one was inside and then phoned 111.’’
Prest’s wife Katrina Prest was at work when her husband called to say the house was on fire.
‘‘I just broke down. Someone from work had to drive me here. I just absolutely lost it,’’ she said.
‘‘Everything we own in the world was in there – all our clothes, furniture, fridge and food. We’ve lost kids’ school reports and photos. Where do we live, where do we go?’’
The Prests – who have five children, four of whom were at school at the time of the blaze – said they hoped their contents insurance was up to date.
The family had lived in the HNZ home for 18 months.
Rangiora chief fire officer Hamish Peter said the house was extensively damaged.
‘‘It was a pretty quick response and the fire was contained fast, but there has been significant damage to the inside of the house and up into the roof structure.’’
It was too soon to know the cause of the blaze, Peter said.
For now, crews were focused on making the structure safe for fire investigators to get inside.
Neighbour Jeannie Randles said she walked past the house on her morning walk at 9.10am and 20 minutes later could see the flames from Dudley Park.
‘‘I couldn’t believe it, it all just happened so fast.’’
Shane Prest said the family would stay with Katrina’s mother in Woodend.