Dunedin road closures after house fire collapses home

An “inferno” house fire has destroyed at least one property in South Dunedin and kept emergency services busy in the early hours of this morning.

The property, believed to be a boarding house, had been used by homeless people to sleep in, the Otago Daily Times said.

Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said they have not had reports that anyone is inside the home or injured, but they are searching the building as standard procedure.

The cause of the fire has not been determined, and police and FENZ are working to establish whether anyone may have been in the house at the time the fire began.

A police drone will be used to assist investigators at the scene.

Otago Assistant Commander Rob Torrance told the Otago Daily Times that builders who had been renovating the initial property had told him up to five homeless people were known to sleep there.

St John said the number of patients from the fire was “not yet known” at 8.53am.

FENZ received multiple calls to a residential house fire on Phillips St, Kensington, at around 6.40am this morning.

27/10/23 06:40: Fire incident in Kensington, Dunedin. Number of patients not yet known.For more details refer to Fire and Emergency NZ . https://t.co/JBl2VmeX6y

— St John (@StJohnAlerts) October 26, 2023

When FENZ arrived, the home was “well involved” in flames and by 7.15am they were still working to try to control the fire.

It is thought the property involved in the blaze is the same where a person died in a house fire in April 2022.

Bridgestone Mosgiel owner Dean Smith told the Herald he saw smoke billowing out of the home as he was driving across the motorway.

“I couldn’t believe it, I could feel the heat of the fire and I watched it for about five minutes.

“This [home] just disintegrated in no time at all, it was just an inferno.”

Smith said he watched the fire spread quickly to a neighbouring property.

“They’re very old historic houses in an old part of town, very hard to get to for the fire service.

“It’s spread up the walls of the house on the right ... it looked like they contained it but there was a heck of smoke coming out of the roof of the [other] household.

“I thought, ‘Oh no, she’s gonna go up as well. They’re very old, dry houses, that’s for sure.”

An 'inferno' of a house fire has destroyed at least one property in South Dunedin. Photo / Dean Smith.

FENZ shift manager Blair Walklin said the blaze has caused damage to “a couple” of neighbouring properties.

Walklin couldn’t confirm the extent of the damage to those properties.

He says crews have been on the scene for around an hour and have dampened down the blaze significantly.

FENZ confirmed six fire appliances are in attendance from across the Dunedin area, including brigades from St Kilda, Lookout Point, Roslyn, Balclutha, Willowbank and Ravensbourne.

No one has been reported injured or missing in the fire and a fire investigator has been notified.

He says while the fire isn’t contained yet, crews are not “screaming out” for more resources.

Dunedin Police are asking motorists to avoid the Kensington area following two separate incidents this morning.

Due to the Phillips St fire, police have closed South Rd between Princess St and Eglinton Rd.

King Edward St is also closed near the intersection of Wilkie Rd after a truck hit power lines just before 6.30am.

Police said no one was injured in the incident.

Motorists should avoid the area or expect delays.

Walklin is thanking crews for their efforts in what he has called “tough” weather conditions.