Fire destroys family's homestead in rural Tauranga

Only the charred remains were left of a beloved old house in rural Welcome Bay. Photo/George Novak

Fire swept through an old house in rural Welcome Bay, destroying the family homestead on Kairua Rd.

By the time the first firefighters shortly after 11.40am yesterday, it was too late. ''It was not end to end when we first got there, but it did not take long,'' Papamoa station officer Jon Gilbert said.

He said the homestead, estimated to be 50 to 60 years old, could not be saved. Firefighters were left with the task of stopping the spread of the fire into vegetation and extinguishing the flames. Neighbours confirmed to emergency services that there was no one inside the house.

The fire burned with such intensity that nothing was left but the charred remains of the house.

A cousin of the man living in the house, said the outside of the home had been done up a few months ago.

He was cutting down a tree at the back of his family's property a short distance down the road when he heard the crack of glass shattering from the heat of the fire.

''I turned around and thought, holy hell.''

He dashed back to their house and rang emergency services, with the Papamoa volunteers soon joined by two units from the Mount Maunganui Fire Station.

He said it was one of the oldest houses in the area and its loss was a real blow for the family.

''It's sad to see the house is not there anymore.''

Firefighters initially fought the blaze using water from a tanker, switching to mains water once a connection was made with a hydrant about 100m down the road.

Three low-pressure hoses and one high-pressure hose were used at the peak of the fire, with a crew from Te Puke joining the Mount and Papamoa crews.

The preliminary investigation into the cause of the fire began yesterday, with photos taken of the outside of the gutted house. Once the fire was fully doused, the blackened sheets of corrugated roofing iron were lifted off to allow the investigator to have a proper look.