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June 2017
Methven Volunteer Fire Brigade chief Selwyn Allred surveys the area where the fire started. PHOTO SUSAN SANDYS 110617-SS-001
Fire damage shocks open home visitors BY SUSAN SANDYS
SUSAN.S@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ
IN TODAY’S GUARDIAN
About 140 people viewed a fire-damaged Methven home which was opened to the public yesterday afternoon. Methven Volunteer Fire Brigade members took visitors on tours through the Spaxton Street house which was extensively damaged in a blaze last month. Visitors were shocked at the amount of damage the blaze was able to do in a matter of minutes. They were shown significant points of interest, such as where and how the fire started, how damage could have been reduced and the impact of smoke and flames. The fire started after the homeowner had taken out a charred log from the logburner in the late afternoon and placed
it on the hearth. The logburner had not been going since the previous night. He lit a fire in the logburner with kindling and paper, and then popped down to the shops. When he returned the log on the hearth had reignited and set fire to a wicker kindling basket nearby, and a couch. He thought he might be able to drag the couch outside, but then he his wife had to quickly escape and dial 111 as the blaze became out of control. Firefighters were there within four minutes, but by that time flames were roaring out of the lounge room ranch slider and melting its aluminium. The lounge room, where temperatures reached 900 degrees Celsius, was gutted. Firefighters had managed to contain the
fire however heat and smoke destroyed the majority of the house. Two bedrooms behind closed doors were relatively intact. Chief Selwyn Allred said the fire showed the benefit of keeping doors closed. Another lesson was to have items one metre from the fire place, and put any ashes or charred wood in a metal container out of the way for five days, because they can reignite. Furniture was an effective fuel source, and the couch which caught fire had flammability equivalent to 30 litres of petrol. “We see today as the community being able to benefit from a tragedy. We do appreciate the owners allowing us to do it, it’s not an easy thing for them to do,” Allred said.
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