Mum wakes up in time to save kids

Photo / Steven McNicholl

A struggling mother of eight is homeless after an electrical fire destroyed her house in Hastings.

Kelly Andrews, 33, woke about 11pm on Friday after dreaming her baby was crying.

But when she checked on eight-month-old Nemesis he was asleep.

As she walked down her hallway she smelt smoke and saw "an orange glow".

"I could hear a noise, which would have been everything on fire, so I went straight back in and got my baby," said Andrews.

"I don't believe in God but the fact I woke up ... if I hadn't, then my family would have been having their funerals today. Five minutes later we would have been burned alive."

Six of Andrews' children, aged 3 to 9, were staying at their grandparents' homes in Napier.

Fifteen-year-old Kaya Walker was also in the house and escaped without injury.

Andrews said the house was destroyed and had to be demolished.

Hastings senior station officer Dennis O'Leary said 12 firefighters battled the blaze for more than four hours.

"They were lucky they woke up," O'Leary said. "If you're in a deep sleep you lose your sense of smell."

Fire risk management officer Mike Finucane believed an electrical fault in the bathroom ceiling started the fire.

Andrews moved into the rental property in November last year after escaping a violent relationship.

"Here was a fresh start for us, bring the kids to a home and now there is no home. We lost everything," she said.

No smoke alarms were in the house and Andrews could not afford to be insured.