Acrid black smoke rises from a fire in Onehunga on Wednesday evening. Video / Shey Gunawardana, Tracey-Lee Bosson, Jason Dorday, Jeena Percival
A business owner has lost seven cars, including BMWs and Audis, all uninsured, to a fire that torched his workshop in Onehunga and left him with burns after he tried to rescue his dog inside.
Yong Sheng Bei told the Herald he was sitting in his home, infront of his workshop, when he heard an explosion outside yesterday afternoon.
“It was around 4.30pm when suddenly, boom! I looked around but could not see anything,” he said in Cantonese, translated to English.
His wife, Yan Zhong, opened the door to the workshop and was confronted by flames.
Yong Sheng Bei's Galway St, Onehunga business was destroyed by fire yesterday afternoon. Photo / Michael Craig
Bei ran to the workshop to rescue his dog, burning his hand on the metal door handle when he went in.
He then leapt from a second-storey window as the fire spread through the building.
Thick, black and acrid smoke could be seen from around the neighbourhood, and police on the scene told onlookers to step back as there was a risk of burning asbestos.
Emergency services gave out oxygen masks to several neighbours as a precaution, as people described the air as smelling like burned plastic.
A charred building frame remained, and blackened car bodies could be seen in the wreckage, one still on a hoist.
Sheets of corrugated iron lay on the ground at the front of the warehouse next to singed gas bottles.
Sheets of corrugated iron lay on the ground at the front of the warehouse next to singed gas bottles. Photo / Michael Craig
Bei, originally from Shanghai, China said he had lived in the house for 14 years, where he had also started repairing cars and selling parts.
He showed the Herald the burn on his right hand, along with scratches and grazes on his left. He described the shock that went through his leg when he jumped from the window.
The scene still smelled of smoke and cordon tape surrounded the warehouse. His wife showed his dog, sitting at the entrance to the workshop, which both were pleased had survived.
