More house fires across Canterbury, one injured in Christchurch blaze

Fire and Emergency appliances responded to a house fire in the eastern Christchurch suburb of Avondale, shortly before 6am. Photo / RNZ, Richard Tindiller

Two more properties in Christchurch and Timaru caught fire in the early hours of Friday morning, with one injured during the Christchurch incident.

Fire and Emergency appliances responded to a house fire in the eastern Christchurch suburb of Avondale, shortly before 6am.

Three appliances - two from ANZAC Station and one from the Christchurch central station - initially responded to the blaze on Pembroke St, before calling two more units for backup.

The blaze was in a residential dwelling, Fire and Emergency’s Simon Lyford confirmed. He said all people involved were accounted for.

However, the shift manager said one member of the public was injured during the fire. St John confirmed the person sustained moderate injuries.

One appliance remained at the property at 9am, the fire took roughly an hour to extinguish.

The blaze was in a residential dwelling, Fire and Emergency’s Simon Lyford confirmed, he said all people involved were accounted for. Photo / NZME

Fire investigators are looking into the incident.

Just over an hour later, fire crews responded to a second house fire in Timaru - when Fire and Emergency received a report of an incident on Craigie Ave.

Two appliances were at the scene of the “well-involved” fire, which is understood to have started in the property’s kitchen.

One appliance remains at the fire, which took half an hour to put out. Nobody was injured.

Yesterday was a busy shift for firefighters in Christchurch, as they responded to two house fires that sparked simultaneously in Hillmorton and Burnham.

An 18-year-old girl was arrested for wilfully setting fire to property, in relation to the Hillmorton blaze.

Lyford said there wasn’t any indication of a trend in house fires headed into Christmas and New Year but mentioned it was a good time to remind the public to be aware of fire risks.

“Check your smoke alarms and make sure you’re aware when cooking - that you don’t get tied up in the festive celebrations, but keep an eye on the food,” he said.

“It’s a massive disruption to the families and headed into this time of year, if there’s serious damage, it’s not the easiest to find emergency accommodation either.”