A person has died and three others — one in a serious condition — are in hospital following a large fire that destroyed part of a housing block at Burnham Military Camp in Canterbury.
Firefighters were called after 2am yesterday to the building, which is part of the army camp south of Christchurch.
Burnham camp commandant Major Julie Richardson said the blaze happened in a New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) property outside the military camp’s perimeter fencing.
Richardson could not confirm if the property was occupied by defence force staff or non-military personnel. Some houses in the area were occupied by non-NZDF tenants and their properties managed through commercial property owners.
“Our thoughts are with the whānau who have lost a family member, and all of those impacted by today’s fire,” Richardson said.
“New Zealand Defence Force welfare homes have been opened up for the occupants, and support is being provided to all those affected – including via Defence Community Facilitators and Burnham’s padre.
“While housing at Burnham Military Camp is owned by the NZDF, some is occupied by NZDF personnel and some is tenanted by non-NZDF personnel.”
Detective Sergeant Brent Menzies confirmed shortly after 4pm that a body had now been removed and would undergo a formal identification process.
That was “expected to take some time”.
Fire investigators would continue their work at the scene on Thursday.
“Police have referred the death to the Coroner who we are continuing enquiries on behalf of. Police extend our condolences to the family and friends of the deceased who we are providing support to and will continue to keep updated on the investigation.”
Earlier, Fire and Emergency NZ southern shift manager Blair Walklin said multiple calls were received to the Burnham area fire.
“When crews arrived, the house was well ablaze. A number of attached units also suffered damage,” Walklin said.
The fire is now considered contained, but multiple fire appliances will remain at the scene into daylight.
The cause of the fire was unknown. A fire investigator would be attending, he said.
This morning, police investigators are on the scene as well as military police and an NZDF fire crew.
Police have confirmed one person has died in the fire, while three patients were taken to hospital according to Hato Hone St John.
Photos from the scene show a section of the large two-storey weatherboard building has been gutted, with only charred, buckled framing and the roof remaining.
Weatherboards are also blackened and windows smashed on the adjoining apartments.
The Burnham camp is about 28km south of Christchurch and hosts about 1300 military and civilian personnel, according to the NZ Defence Force website.
House linked to murder catches ablaze in Rangiora
Meanwhile, firefighters have also been dealing with a house fire in the nearby town of Rangiora since about 4am.
The house, on the corner of Southbrook Rd and South Belt, was up for sale but has been razed to the ground.
Video supplied to the Herald shows flames enveloping the historic villa and leaping metres into the air.
The property is linked to the homicide investigation into the alleged murder of Richard Leman. This is at least the third fire at the property, after it was targeted by arsonists last year and allegedly firebombed with a Molotov cocktail in 2022.
Witness Peter Benny described the fire as a “huge bonfire”, with flames higher than the telephone poles when he spotted it 100m away.
“It was huge...I stopped and I could feel the heat of the fire from the white line in the middle of the road.”
Realising the neighbours were still asleep - and the windows on their house were heating up - Benny woke the neighbours, got them out of their house and onto the street.
He told one resident to quickly grab her valuables.
“I said to the lady, best get your cars out of the garage because if your house goes, your cars are gone too.”