Wednesday, Oct 7, 2015
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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY
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Lismore home Mid Canty swelters gutted by fire PHOTO TETSURO MITOMO 061015-TM-229
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BY DAISY HUDSON
DAISY.H@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
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A family have lost nearly everything after their Lismore home was gutted by fire yesterday. Graeme Bradley, his partner, and their 2-year-old daughter were just one week away from moving house when their rental home on Lismore School Road was destroyed in a blaze sparked by an electrical fault. The wooden house was so badly damaged that it had to be demolished late last night. Luckily the family were not at home at the time of the fire - Mr Bradley was milking cows while his partner and daughter had taken one of their cars into town to get a warrant of fitness. The scope of what had happened
was yet to sink in, he said. “We’ll just have to roll with the punches,” he said. Many of the family’s possessions had been boxed up in preparation for their move to Southland next week, where Mr Bradley is starting a new job. “It’s all toast,” he said. “We’ve got a few bits and pieces that we grabbed but it doesn’t look like it’s going to be any good, it’s all smoke damaged.” The family did not have contents insurance and were left with the few possessions they had with them at the time of the fire, Mr Bradley said. It was lucky that nobody was hurt in the fire, but it could have been a much different story had it happened at night, he said.
Fire crews from Ashburton, Mayfield and Hinds were called to the house shortly before 2pm yesterday. Dozens of firefighters spent hours dampening down hotspots and checking for debris that may have reignited the fire. Fire risk management officer Murray Cairns said the rear of the house was completely gutted, while the front and roof suffered significant damage. It was likely caused by an electrical fault in a switchboard, he said. For Mr Bradley and his family, it was simply a case of bad timing. “It’s just one of those things that happens in life,” he said.
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