Century-old homestead destroyed in ‘hellishly quick’ fire

Poututu Station homestead south of Wairoa was engulfed in flames yesterday morning with several fire appliances from Wairoa and Nūhaka attending. Picture by Jack Ward, Wairoa Star

by Jack Ward, Wairoa Star

A century of family history went up in flames south of Wairoa on Monday morning.

Shortly before 9am, Wairoa Fire and Emergency was called to Poututu Station 10 to 15 kilometres south of the town to battle a blaze that had engulfed the station homestead.

No one was inside when the fire began and there was no wind to fan the flames.

Bob Haynes said he and a couple of the farm workers had gone outside to discuss the plan for the day when they heard a noise.

“We heard this bang and turned around to see a little bit of smoke coming out of the chimney. It was hellishly quick.”

To get a signal to alert emergency services they had to head up to neighbour Isabelle Thompson’s property nearby for reception.

The house, made of native timbers like kauri, was choked with flame and smoke in minutes as fire crews wrestled to get the fire under control.

Two appliances from Wairoa and one appliance from Nūhaka arrived at the scene at about 9.15am.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said the homestead was destroyed.

As of yesterday the cause had yet to be determined.