A young Whangarei couple say their decision to stay at a family member's house the night their home and all their possessions were destroyed in a suspicious fire may have saved them and their young daughter.
The 22-year-old man and 20-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, planned to stay at a family member's house in a street nearby, but after an early Wednesday morning of chaos in Smeaton Drive they were close to returning to their home. However, hours after making the decision to stay with relatives, their home was torched and all their possessions destroyed.
"I wanted to go home and my partner wanted to go home too, but I sat there (in the relative's home) and said 'no we'll stay'," the man said.
This last minute change of heart may have saved the couple and their 2-year-old daughter. The fire, which is being treated as suspicious, followed a number of disorder incidents that occurred that night where the couple were attacked by people leaving a nearby party. The couple said a party in a nearby house had spilled onto the street and as some males from the party were allegedly attacking their girlfriends the man tried to intervene and he and his partner were both attacked.
"I was scared, I was scared for my partner" the man said.