Man burned as house gutted

Nathan Crombie | 3rd February 2010

Fire destroyed the home of a Martinborough resident left with serious burns after fighting the blaze wearing only underpants and slippers on Saturday.

Esther Street homeowner Geoffrey Janse was yesterday listed in a stable condition in the intensive care unit at Hutt Hospital after he was taken by ambulance from the scene of the fire late on Saturday afternoon.

Martinborough deputy fire chief John Hunter said two dozen firefighters from throughout the region were scrambled to the blaze, which was well involved upon their arrival about 4.30pm.

He said the small cottage was gutted in the fire and the last of the firefighters left the scene about five hours later after donning hazardous material suits to clear asbestos material from the rear of the structure.

Mr Hunter said Mr Janse had received serious burns to at about 10 percent of his body after going back into the burning house before firefighters arrived.

Neighbour Claire McNeill said her son Joel, 9, was the first to raise the alarm after he saw smoke billowing from the home while he was riding his bike.

"I called 111 and by the time I got outside there was smoke pouring out of the windows. Geoff was out there in his undies and slippers holding a hose and trying to put it out," she said.

Ms McNeill said her house sits within metres of the cottage, which is a former shearer's quarters, and firefighters had hosed down the side of their home that faced the fire before evacuating her and her two young children from the property.

She said Mr Janse had been meanwhile taken in to her house to take a cold shower for his burns.

"He had big blisters on both hands and his shoulders, arms, back and chest were all red. All he kept saying was 'my house, my house' over and over."

Ms McNeill said Mr Janse had told firefighters and family he was cooking in a kitchen at the front of the house and had gone to a laundry at the rear when the fire broke out.

Ms McNeill said she was unaware Mr Janse had gone back into the burning house although he had been concerned about the whereabouts of his crossbreed dog "that was always inside", she said.

"But Cassie - that's his dog - got out okay. She was with us when the firefighters told us we had to evacuate."

She and her family had spent the remainder of the weekend with a friend to allow the smell of smoke to clear from their home.

She said prevailing winds on the day had been "the only thing that kept the fire from our place" and she counted herself fortunate after having only moved into the property late last year.

Family and friends of Mr Janse were at the Esther Street home yesterday to retrieve possessions from the charred ruins although they refused to comment on the fire.

Two vehicles had been parked close to the house when the fire broke out with the heat of the blaze scorching the paintwork from the rear of one of the cars, a BMW sedan.

Ms McNeill said a fundraiser had been already started in the town for Mr Janse and a collection point established in a retail business.