A family's usual weekly routine was thwarted today when they awoke at 5.30am to the smell of burning plastic and discovered their much-needed vehicle alight in the driveway. Photo / Sarah Curtis
A family's usual weekly routine was thwarted today when they awoke at 5.30am to the smell of burning plastic and discovered their much-needed vehicle alight in the driveway. Photo / Sarah Curtis
Another Tikipunga family faces massive inconvenience, expense, and upheaval after waking in the early hours of this morning to discover their much-needed car ablaze outside their bedroom window.
The fire was the latest in a spate of suspected arsons involving vehicles parked in driveways, in the suburb, which police were now investigating. Three other vehicles had also been targeted with early morning fires in Thomas St, Heretaunga St, and Thompson Place.
Today, a Meadow Park Crescent family - including two young children and a teen - woke at about 5.30am to the smell of burning plastic, then discovered one of the two vehicles they relied on for work and school runs was on fire in their driveway.
There was little left of the interior of a Meadow Park Crescent's family car after it was set on fire early this morning. Photo / Sarah Curtis
Parked within a flame’s reach of their bedroom windows, the vehicle interior was alight and completely burnt out when Fire and Safety New Zealand (Fenz) extinguished the blaze at about 5.45am. Later, a Fenz inspector said the engine looked surprisingly unscathed because it was protected by a firewall between it and the rest of the car. However, it too would have ignited if the blaze had been left much longer.
The family’s first concern was for their personal safety if the fire had spread to the house. They were worried the car might also have blown up. However, the Fenz officer said luckily vehicles didn’t blow up the way they do in the movies. Most drama in real vehicle fires was from the loud bangs of the windows and tyres blowing out.
The female occupant of the house, who asked not to be named, questioned why their vehicle had been targeted.
“We’re good people,” she said.
She’d gone to bed on Sunday night wishing the weekend wasn’t over and that she didn’t have to go to work in the morning. However, she would happily be there now, instead of dealing with the worry and aftermath of this fire, the woman said.
She relied on that car to get to work and to drop her children at school and other activities each day. She and her partner had established a weekly routine that was now turned on its head. They were facing the need to make an insurance claim, find a new car, and the expense of installing security cameras that they’d decided they couldn’t do without.
The burned-out remains of yet another car in Tikipunga set alight by a suspected arsonist. Photo / Sarah Curtis
Her youngest daughter was upset because the fire had destroyed her brand-new dinosaur bag, which was bought for daycare only last week.
The woman said the fact the family had escaped any harm was all that mattered. Although they had a well-rehearsed fire escape plan at their old home, they were yet to make one at the new address, having only moved into it a short time ago.
“We’re fine, we’re all fine, it’s only a car, what matters is that we’re all fine,” the woman said.
Vehicles were also parked in driveways overnight at houses surrounding theirs but went untouched. The woman noted neighbours had security cameras and some had dogs - probably the reason those homes weren’t targeted. Her family had also left their front gate open that night, which they didn’t normally.
The Fenz officer said the suspected arsonist wouldn’t need to have gained access to the locked car. While he was yet to ascertain where the fire began, it could have been started on the roof, using a solvent as an accelerator that leaked inside.
On Friday, police asked the public for any information that might help find the suspected arsonist. Whangarei CIB Detective Sergeant Pieter Serfontein called on Tikipunga residents to report any suspicious overnight activity by calling 111.
Anyone with information could update police online or call 105 using the reference number 240912/0211.
Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111, Serfontein said.
Sarah Curtis is a news reporter for the Northern Advocate focusing on a wide range of issues. She has nearly 20 years experience in journalism, much of which she spent court reporting. She is passionate about covering stories that make a difference.
