Springer spaniel started Mataura house fire - ‘greedy wee bugger’

A springer spaniel is in the dog box after his hunt for tucker led to a fire which destroyed a Mataura home, leaving three puppies dead.

The 6-year-old called Ollie and six puppies, just a few months old, were at a property in Mcillwraith Rd on when the house was gutted by a fire.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) said Ollie somehow turned on an element that had a pot of oil sitting on it, starting the fire.

It was thought the dog was searching for food on the oven, they said.

Mataura homeowner Raelene Burr stands among the remains of her home with a surviving puppy, Oscar, bundled in her arms. Photo / Ben Andrews

House owners Raelene and Neil Burr were at home when the fire started.

Raelene Burr said once the fire started, three of the puppies became trapped under a couch and could not escape.

“I try not to think about the puppies that died, but I can’t.

“Poor wee buggers.”

Despite all this, her love for Ollie remained, she said.

“He does not know that he has done anything wrong.”

She had been in the tunnel house picking strawberries when the fire started and did not know about it until she heard the fire alarm.

“That’s why I never saw it. I just heard Neil yell at me and I thought he was yelling at one of the dogs.

“Then I thought he sounds a wee bit cranky and I came down.”

Neil Burr said he was asleep when the fire began and woke because the smoke alarms were sounding.

“I heard the fire alarm go off and ... I went over to solve the problem.”.

But there was no solving the problem as the fire took off, he said.

He shut as many doors as possible on his way out of the house but it was not enough to save it.

“She’s totalled. Wrecked.”

He said Ollie was always hunting for food.

“He’s a greedy wee bugger and he climbs up and walks around. This time he must have knocked the element on.”

The couple were staying at a motel while they made a decision on what to do next, he said.

Specialist fire investigator Murray Milne-Maresca said it was the first time he had heard of a fire being caused by a dog.

“We often hear of canines alerting occupants to a fire, but this dog starting a fire highlighted the fact that you just never know how a fire might start in your home.”

It underlined the importance of having working smoke alarms and a three-step escape plan, he said.