‘Christmas present’ up in flames
It was meant to be a present to himself. Canterbury man John Wells had planned to move into his new home on Christmas, but two days before he got the chance it burned to the ground.
The single-bedroom house was one of a number of properties damaged or destroyed after a grass fire broke out on Knights Rd, near Rolleston, on Saturday.
‘‘The fireman said if I had been at the house I wouldn’t have had a s... show of getting out, it went through that fast,’’ Wells, a 57-yearold retired truck driver, said.
Wells bought the house 18 months ago and had it relocated to land leased from a friend on Knights Rd for his retirement with his dog, Bruce.
Since then he had been painstakingly refurbishing the property. He had it re-wired, replumbed and bought all new fittings and furniture to enjoy his time in the countryside.
‘‘I never even sat on the lounge suite or slept on the bed,’’ he said.
‘‘The fire hadn’t even been going, it was a brand new fire place. Everything was brand new.
‘‘I was going to move in on Christmas. That was my Christmas present to myself.
‘‘Now there’s not one thing that is worth salvaging. There’s nothing there.
‘‘Even the toilet melted. I don’t know how it melted but it did. I’ve never seen such destruction from a fire.’’
Wells had contents insurance but was planning to get home insurance after he moved in.
‘‘It was out in the country, fresh air and everything I could wish for. It was a beautiful place,’’ he said of his home, and now-dashed retirement dreams.
Wells said his friend and the owner of the property, Daryl Cross, called him on Sunday to tell him about the fire. At first he thought it was a ‘‘Christmas joke’’, but when he went out to Knights Rd it looked ‘‘like a bomb had gone off’’.
Cross also lived on the property. A Givealittle page set up on his and wife Salve’s behalf said: ‘‘They lost everything in a matter of minutes, after a fire fuelled by blustery winds and tinder-dry grass burnt down [their] home’’.
Wells said the Cross’ shearing shed, which had been partially converted into their home, burned down, as well as a barn on the property housing a collection of Cross’ racing cars.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand regional manager Richard McNamara said fire investigators were still determining the cause and origin of the Rolleston fire and the 100-hectare Hororata fire on Christmas Day.
Each blaze cost at least $100,000 to fight, he said, largely due to the number of helicopters deployed to each site.
McNamara was aware of the rumour someone was operating machinery on Cross’ Knights Rd property and that a stray spark may have caused the fire, but said he would not comment while the investigation was ongoing.
He said his heart went out to the families who lost property, particularly during the Christmas holidays.
‘‘To face those kind of perils is just heartbreaking and we’ll do all we can within our ambit to ensure they’re taken care of.’’