Gardener notices house fire just in time

LUCKY: Firefighters tackle a small blaze in Second St on Sunday afternoon, after the owner smelt smoke while out in the garden and then saw flames. Station officer Garry Nielsen said she was lucky she was home at the time. PHOTO/CHERIE TAYLOR.

A spot of Sunday gardening proved a lifesaver for a Lansdowne resident - from a sunny spot in her front yard, she saw a corner of her verandah smouldering.

The homeowner noticed the front verandah roof of her 100-year-old villa had caught fire early yesterday afternoon, after catching a strong whiff of smoke while she worked in the garden directly beneath.

She alerted emergency services around 1.20pm, and firefighters arrived on the scene promptly, putting out the fire within seconds, she says.

The homeowner, who wished to be known only as Tina, said she felt "very lucky" that she was able to detect the fire before it spread through the old wooden house.

"It was just in the garden underneath the verandah, and I kept smelling the smoke," said Tina, who has lived at the Second St property for almost 20 years.

"It had quite a dirty smell. And then I saw the flames had got quite high, about a foot. It wouldn't have been nice at all if it had went up any further.

"I was just a coincidence that I decided to do some gardening. Imagine if I'd not been home, or if I'd been in the sitting room on the other side of the house?"

Ironically, Tina shares her home with a firefighter - Tina's husband is a member of the Masterton Fire Service, and was out cycling when the incident took place. "This is a fireman's house, and it caught fire," she said. "And now all my husband's workmates are here putting it out. But it's just old houses for you. This house is very old, and the wood its quite dry."

Masterton Fire Service station officer Garry Nielsen suspected the fire was caused by an ember from the indoor fireplace, which had been blown on to the verandah in the wind.

"She was very lucky she was home at the time," said Mr Nielsen.

"Any fire has the potential to take off, especially in the wind."

The small fire was out in "about two seconds", he said.

Tina's home sustained minimal damage in the fire.

She said she was "very happy" with the response from the firefighters.

Meanwhile, shortly after midday, Carterton firefighters were called to deal with a hedge fire on Carters Line East.