Aid floods in for family who lost all

Fire investigator Michael Champtaloup searches for the cause of last week's house fire in Waitangi. Photo / Peter de Graaf

The response to the plight of a Waitangi family that lost their home and grandmother in one night has been so overwhelming they have asked for any further donations to go to other families in need.

Last Tuesday night the Waitangi home of Ricky Tangira and Mei Apiata was gutted by a blaze which is thought to have started in the chimney of their open fireplace.

The couple are the caregivers of eight grandchildren, ranging in age from three to 14, all of whom were brought to safety by quick-thinking neighbours. The house was engulfed in flames just moments later, destroying much of what the family owned.

They went to nearby Te Tii Marae for the night but a second tragedy followed when Ms Apiata died in her sleep early the next morning.

Opua resident Cynthia Hemara started an online appeal for clothing, furniture and other necessities for the family.

The response was immediate and the family has now asked that donations be put on hold while they sorted through what had been given so far and dealt with the death of Ms Apiata.

Anyone still keen to donate items could give then instead to the Finkk (Families in Need Kerikeri) charity run by Kerikeri woman Monika Welch. Those goods are distributed to struggling families across the Far North.

Ms Apiata's funeral was held over the weekend. The family has moved to a house in Moerewa.

Meanwhile, fire investigator Michael Champtaloup has determined that the cause of the blaze was pyrolysis, in which wood that becomes extremely dry from prolonged heating can ignite at relatively low temperatures.

The fireplace had been in use all day and timber inside the wall had been exposed to heat through gaps in the chimney's masonry until it eventually ignited.

The fireplace had been supervised all day and the blaze was not in any way the family's fault, he said.

* Anyone wishing to donate to Finkk can contact the charity by sending a message via its Facebook page (The House of Finkk) or to Ms Welch on 027 378 8674. Donors can also contact Ms Hemara on 020 400 61746.