Fire and Emergency Whanganui area manager Gary Ward surveys the damage in the worst-affected corner of the lounge.
Fire and Emergency Whanganui area manager Gary Ward surveys the damage in the worst-affected corner of the lounge.
Outside the winter sun is breaking through for a beautiful day; it's a stark contrast to the inside of an Ōhakune ski lodge where nearly everywhere you look it's black.
A pile of charred newspapers sits beside the woodburner in the lounge. Sofas arranged around the fireplace are munted. Thelounge windows have blown out and remaining glass in the open plan ground floor is black.
In the kitchen area, containers in the pantry have melted, the light fitting has blown out, the coffee machine will never work again and there's a clear line around the room, just above floor level.
There's one burst of colour - a packet of pens, melted on the dining table.
But open the door from the main communal space to the hallway and stairs to the upper floor and everything looks fine in the Wairarapa Ski Club's lodge, which caught fire on July 10.
The public had the opportunity to see the impact of the fire when Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) held open days at the ski lodge, in Ōhakune's Totara St, on July 24-25.
Ohakune Volunteer Fire Brigade senior station officer Martin Webb was one of the team who guided people through the ski lodge.
Whanganui area manager Gary Ward and other FENZ staff were on hand to take people, including school groups, through the building and explain what they were seeing.
"Many people don't understand the speed that a fire grows and the damage it can cause," Ward said.
"This is an opportunity where a house has suffered a significant fire but only enough damage that we can show people through it. It's not an opportunity we get very often."
Ward said it was fortunate that nearly all of the ski club members were out when the fire started mid-morning. However, the Ohakune Volunteer Fire Brigade, which was first on the scene, didn't know that when they arrived.
The alarm was raised by a person who was still in the ski lodge.
"They heard the smoke alarm and came downstairs and saw the fire," Ward said.
"They operated the manual alarm system and tried to deal with the fire [with the fire hose in the building] but they realised the fire was too big and called the brigade. They had no protective gear or breathing apparatus. It was a good decision to leave the building.
"Fighting the fire was well within the Ohakune brigade's capabilities. Ohakune is a two-pump station and there was back-up from Raetihi and the command unit from Whanganui.
"The brigade would have put out the fire in minutes but dampening down and making sure the fire is totally extinguished takes the time."
A fire investigator believes the blaze started when an ember from the fireplace ignited paper or cardboard nearby and the fire then travelled up a beam, Ward said.
"If you look at the room, the fire was mostly contained to a corner but the heat and smoke damage has spread throughout the ground floor," he said.
"There's melting and smoke damage through the whole room. Imagine if that was in a family home. There wouldn't be much left.
"The windows gave way just as the brigade arrived. It was lucky they got there then because that would have given more oxygen to the fire."
Internal windows above the lounge show charring on beams in a room upstairs. Ward says the fire would have taken over upstairs in another five to 10 minutes.
As well as the obvious damage, the signs FENZ staff have put up around the room are sobering.
"Smoke level down to here" reads a sign on the back of one of the sofas. It's just above an obvious line across the back of a sofa, not far above floor level.
Another says a lounge suite contains the equivalent of 30 litres of petrol.
"There's a clear smoke level on the back of this sofa," Ward said.
"That reinforces the message to keep low and get out. If you're up high and breathing in toxic fumes, you are unlikely to get out."
A sign by the woodburner says "the fire started here". Nearby there's a pile of newspapers. Ward says it's a reminder to keep combustibles away from fireplaces.
A smoke line on the back of a sofa shows the importance of keeping low during a fire.
Ward opens the blackened door that leads from the lounge to a hallway and the stairs.
"The occupant of the building closed this door before they left and that shows the importance of shutting a door to contain a fire to a room and stop it spreading to the rest of the building."
Ward praised the occupant for closing the door and getting out of the building.
"If it's safe to try to extinguish the fire, by all means do so but don't put yourself in danger. It's not like you see on TV or in movies - the sprinklers don't all come on at once, putting a wet handkerchief over your mouth won't give you a lot of protection.
"Remember to get down, get low and get out."
The open day gave FENZ an opportunity to demonstrate the importance of its key messages around fire safety, including the need to install photoelectric smoke alarms in all bedrooms, lounge rooms and hallways and to have an escape plan, Ward said.
The fire has brought an early end to the Wairarapa Ski Club's 2019 season. The club celebrated its 40th anniversary earlier this year.
The fire is believed to have started with an ember from the fireplace.
The heat melted pens on a table.
Working smoke alarms and an escape plan are essential for all homes.
Much of the debris that was around the fireplace has been cleared away but a pile of newspapers remains.
Lounge suites contain the equivalent of 30 litres of petrol, adding fuel to a fire.
