Boy leads family to safety as flames gut Christchurch Airbnb house
Sunday, 10 September 2017
A grandfather and some 'little kiddies' tried to fight a fire before fleeing a Christchurch Airbnb house.
The blaze prevented the family-of-10 from Malaysia from escaping out the front door of the three-storey Clifton home, so a boy led them to safety.
Six were taken to hospital after the fire, which began about 8.30pm on Sunday and raged for nearly two hours despite heavy rain.
Canterbury Malaysian Society president Sam Yau, who visited the family on Monday, said they were only in Christchurch for two nights before heading to the North Island on Monday.
The society was trying to organise accommodation for the family and change their flights.
Fire investigator Mark Thomas, who visited the group in Christchurch Hospital on Monday morning, said it was fortunate the 'young chap' knew where the back door was.
'If he hadn't, they would have struggled to get out,' he said.
'[He] unlocked the house when they arrived and he said it was quite tricky to navigate – one of those houses where you're just not sure where everything is.'
Thomas some said the group, including 'a grandfather right down to a couple of little kiddies', tried to extinguish the fire before fleeing the property.
'The occupants are relatively lucky that they got out without more injuries.'
Thomas was confident the fire was accidental.
'I've got a probable cause, but I can't say I'm 100 per cent certain yet.'
The home is owned by Bryce and Kate Jenkins. Kate Jenkins said she was 'absolutely grieving for my home'. She declined to comment further.
Chief fire officer Daryl Sayer, from the Sumner Volunteer Fire Brigade, said those inside the house suffered minor to moderate injuries.
Ten people were assessed by paramedics after the blaze, mainly due to smoke inhalation and minor burns. Six were taken to Christchurch Hospital.
Sayer said the priority was to protect the surrounding properties before attending to the already severely-damaged property where the fire began.
'The entire top level has been burnt out.'
Functioning smoke alarms were in the house.
🚒 CLIFTON TCE - A house is fully ablaze on Clifton Tce near the corner with Spinnaker Ln.
— Christchurch Live (@03alert) September 10, 2017
FIRE NOISE 'ASTRONOMICAL'
A neighbour said she was returning home from a weekend away when she received a call to say her house was burning down.
'People saw the photos of the fire and thought it was our house – it looked like it was. I was just in shock.'
Another neighbour called her shortly after to say her home was safe, but fire crews were battling a massive blaze at the property next door. Smoke had permeated most of her belongings and her dog was 'going crazy' trying to find the source of the smell on Monday morning, she said.
The owners, who lived nearby, were away for weekend, she said.
'They'd been trying to sell the house earlier this year but it didn't sell so they've been using it as an Airbnb. It's really busy, the lights are always on in there and there's people in and out all the time.
'It's so lucky no-one was really hurt.'
Robin Judkins, who lives in a neighbouring property, said the 'bloody huge' fire had easily engulfed most of the three-storey wooden home.
'I arrived home about 9.30pm and as I was coming up the hill I thought 'bloody hell, who's burning coal'? I could smell the smoke from inside the car and I didn't even have the windows down.'
As he rounded a corner about halfway up the windy, earthquake-damaged road he saw fire engines littered outside a property about five houses from his own.
'It was incredibly misty and hard to see what was going on but you couldn't miss the fire and the smoke just pouring out right down the hill.'
The noise was 'astronomical', he said.
'It sounded like the roofing iron was exploding, or they were tearing it off.'
Judkins said he had been robbed three times since the 2011 earthquakes.
'You become very wary in the hills these days. I'm just glad it's not me this time, poor buggers.'
* Audio courtesy of Radio NZ