A photo posted on Facebook shows smoke pouring from the building. Photo / Supplied
Emergency services are at the scene of a house fire in Porirua.
Two patients are reportedly being treated by ambulance staff.
A police spokeswoman said they were notified of the dwelling fire on Dimock St in Titahi Bay about 2.20pm.
Fire and Emergency have not commented on the incident.
Photos of the smoke from the blaze have been posted on social media, with locals questioning what was happening in the area.
Bronte Metekingi – STUFF
Seasoned firefighter John Rowe attended a recent callout where he had to perform CPR on a 3-month-old baby. The child didn’t make it.
Rowe later found out the death was being treated as a suspected murder. He thought of his own grandchild.
He called the 0800 mental health support number provided to firefighters – they were “too busy”.
For Rowe, this was the final straw. After 32 years, he no longer works as a frontline firefighter.
On Monday, members of the Professional Firefighters Union went on a partial strike, refusing to complete any mandatory administrative tasks, like gathering statistics, non-essential paperwork, training and attending conferences.
The union and Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) have hit an impasse after more than a year of bargaining, with the union not ruling out escalating strike action if a deal cannot be reached.
There are issues with pay, staffing levels and equipment, but top of firefighters’ list of grievances is a lack of mental health support and awareness.
Porirua firefighter Jay Elkington said fire crews were almost always the first on the scene when called to a “purple incident” – that’s when a person is near-death or dying.
JERICHO ROCK-ARCHER John Rowe no longer works as a frontline firefighter after reaching the “final straw” on the job.
Since 2013, firefighters have been required to respond to these incidents alongside ambulance staff, but they felt ill-equipped to deal with what they faced.
“We’ve got a bag of bandages, Gladwrap, plasters and bottles of salty water on hand to respond to serious car accidents, suicides and stabbing victims.”
In the past week, Elkington has attended three incidents where someone required CPR. In two of these cases, the person did not survive.
“Being in the job so long, you become desensitised to a certain degree,” he said. But it was the families that stuck with him.
“You’ve got a crying wife …. pleading with us to bring them back. Or the children. We don’t get trained, or any help, to deal with that stuff.”
When Elkington drives past houses in his neighbourhood, he remembers what happened there – the incident, the wife, the children. But he doesn’t know what happened after they closed the ambulance door.
“It would be nice to know if they make it or not. It would give us some closure.”
Elkington said he wanted officers to be trained to recognise what trauma looked like and for processes that removed the pressure on firefighters to self-report.
JERICHO ROCK-ARCHER Porirua firefighters display information about their working conditions and lack of mental health support.
“I don’t know what mental health trauma looks like, or if I am suffering from it.”
Colleague Bret Burrows said, from the coal face, the current support systems and processes felt like “a tick box exercise”.
“This system relies on self-referral and if someone is struggling, they aren’t always in the right frame of mind to self-refer,” he said.
“A system where professionals routinely monitor firefighters’ wellbeing is needed.”
Officially, crews are supposed to do a debrief after every callout, but whether that happened depended on the severity of the incident.
The effect was cumulative, he said. “While you’re still processing one, you get pinged, and you have to go to another one. It all adds up over time.”
The firefighters didn’t feel supported by management.
JERICHO ROCK-ARCHER Alan Collett, union local secretary in Wellington, says in some instances firefighters have been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress injury (PTSI).
Fenz deputy national commander Brendan Nally said firefighters were provided a range of free counselling and professional psychological support services. Counselling was also available to firefighters’ immediate family.
The national body had offered to work with the union to improve and develop mental health support and education, he said.
But it isn’t just the nature of the incidents, it’s also the number of hours firefighters are having to work.
All the firefighters who spoke to Stuff said they’d had to work between 86 and 100 hours a week on countless occasions, in an effort to keep fire trucks on the run and prevent Wellington fire stations closing for the day.
Some firefighters in the region were racking up more than 300 hours a month due to staff shortages. These shortages also made responding to incidents more dangerous.
Nally said firefighters worked 42 hours a week on average, before overtime, based on two-day shifts, followed by two night shifts, and four days off.
AIMAN AMERUL MUNER/STUFF Officially, crews are supposed to do a debrief after every callout, but whether that happened depends on the severity of the incident.
“I am aware some personnel occasionally work long hours, and like many organisations, we have recently been impacted by absences due to Covid-19.”
Nally said he appreciated the “extra mahi” and the need to balance that against fatigue and other pressures, while pointing to the organisation’s fatigue management policy.
In a previous statement, Fenz chief executive Kerry Gregory said personnel occasionally worked long hours, but he was not aware of anyone routinely doing 80, 90 or 100 hours a week.
Burrows said it was hard to hear FENZ downplaying their struggles.
The recurring response was “we’re looking into it”. But that wasn’t good enough, he said.
“It’s like, we’re just going to throw some more money at it and a bunch of people are going to sit around and talk about it, but it won’t actually affect what’s happening.”
Burrows said the extra hours and stress had a knock-on effect. “If you’re selling your free time, something’s got to give – whether it’s family life, your loved ones, your own mental health and wellbeing.”
Wattie Watson, secretary of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters’ Union, said all these issues had compounded to cause a fire crisis.
The parties were deadlocked at the end of one day of mediation on Thursday and Fenz had declined to meet for any further meetings until the union put forward a lower remuneration claim, she said.
“The relationship is at its lowest ever.”
Firefighters have contained a large house fire at a Paremata property near Porirua, north of Wellington.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Karen McDonald confirmed crews were called to the “well involved” house fire on Mana Esplanade about 3.45pm on Thursday.
She said crews had managed to contain the blaze by 5pm, although it had yet to be fully extinguished. Six fire trucks from Johnsonville and Porirua remain on site.
The occupants had all been accounted for and there were no reported injuries, she said.
A fire investigator is on scene to determine the cause of fire.
Police have closed the road between Mana View Rd and Pascoe Ave as a precaution while emergency services respond.
A diversion is in place. Motorists are asked to take an alternative route or delay travel if possible, or expect delays.
SIMON O’CONNOR/STUFF No injured were reported following an early morning blaze in Whitby which started in caravan and spread to a house. (File photo).
A sharp smell of burnt plastic was still in the air following an early morning fire which a Porirua woman saw engulf her garage and van.
The homeowner, who asked to not be named, said she woke up to her husband saying there was a ‘light on the wall’ at about 3.30am on Friday.
“I looked down the hall and saw flames,” she said. “I saw the house was on fire.”
The pair grabbed their dogs, some clothes and managed to get safely out of the house which was built 10 years ago on Canary Way, in Whitby.
The woman climbed over her neighbour’s fence and went to the road where she could see her property. Her neighbours had also been woken up by the blaze and had called emergency services.
“I saw the van was alight and the garage was involved.”
She was grateful for the support of neighbours and the fire brigade. She had been told it was not being treated as suspicious.
A stranger who lives nearby had also offered their home to the pair for a week while she was on holiday.
A Fire and Emergency spokeswoman said the fire started in the van and moved to the house. Four fire vehicles from Porirua, Titahi Bay and Johnsonville attended the blaze.
Fire and Emergency investigators are investigating the cause of the blaze.
No-one was injured in the fire.
The woman’s business, Hel on Wheels Mobile Dog Grooming Ltd, posted on social media and said all appointments would be postponed until further notice because of the fire.
“I regret to inform you all that my van and home caught fire in the early hours of this morning, and I’m postponing all appointments until further notice,” said the post.
The cause of an early morning fire that started in a caravan and spread to a house is yet to be determined.
A Fire and Emergency spokeswoman said services were called to an address in Whitby, Porirua, about 3.30am on Friday.
The fire had started in a caravan on the Canary Way property before spreading to a nearby house, the spokeswoman said.
Four fire vehicles from Porirua, Titahi Bay and Johnsonville attended the blaze.
Fire and Emergency investigators are investigating the cause of the blaze.
No injuries were reported as a result of the fire.
A business, Hel on Wheels Mobile Dog Grooming Ltd, posted on social media and said all appointments would be postponed until further notice because of the fire.
“I regret to inform you all that my van and home caught fire in the early hours of this morning, and I’m postponing all appointments until further notice,” said the post.
A spokeswoman for the business declined to comment when approached by Stuff.
A police spokeswoman said police had not been alerted to the incident.
STORY CREDIT: Bill Hickman and Sophie Cornish
As the family struggled to escape their burning home next door, Vincent Ahiao was woken by the sound of shouting.
It was a man, Ahiao said, screaming for his son to “jump out the window”.
Later when Ahiao saw the house engulfed in fire, it was like “a tornado of flames”.
The neighbours of a Porirua house gutted by fire have spoken about being woken by the suburban inferno on Maher Pl.
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Two people have been treated for injuries after the house fire.
Ahiao said he was woken at about 4am on Thursday by the sounds of the family of four next door struggling to get out of their home.
It appeared the son in the family was struggling to escape and the father was shouting “get out, get out”.
The son jumped out a window to escape, he said. All four family members made it out of the house.
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Vincent Ahiao was woken by the sound of shouting from a house fire next door.
Ahiao said they called emergency services, but he was forced to watch as intense waves of heat and thick smoke swept up from the neighbouring house.
As items exploded inside the house, they popped “like throwing Lynx cans in the fire”, he said.
Ahiao said at the beginning he heard smoke alarms from inside the house too.
VINCENT AHIAO/SUPPLIED The home engulfed in flames in Porirua early on Thursday morning.
On another side of the house, neighbour Paea Saluni was also woken by screams, and still groggy from sleep, struggled to work out what was happening.
He thought it might be a late night party at first.
“I heard screaming, and they were calling out but I wasn’t sure what was happening.”
ROSS GIBLIN/STUFF Two people escaped a house fire in Porirua on early Thursday morning. The house was severely damaged.
He got up and tried to find where the noise was coming from, and then he saw the fire.
“They were all out from the house, so that’s good, I was worried there could be someone inside.”
They called fire fighters too and soon at least three fire trucks were crammed into the cul-de-sac battling the fire.
GOOGLE MAPS/SUPPLIED A house on Maher Pl, Rānui has been severely damaged and two people hospitalised after a house fire on Thursday morning.
In daylight on Thursday morning the house was completely gutted, the fire destroying most of the roof as well. A set of scorched gas tanks sat beside the house.
Emergency services were called to the house on Maher Place in Rānui, Porirua, about 4am on Thursday.
Wellington Free Ambulance were called to the scene at about 5.45am and treated two patients at the scene.
J SCOTT/SUPPLIED A neighbour described the destructive blaze as “so sad, so silent, and so quick”.
An ambulance spokesperson said they were treated for minor injuries and referred to their general practitioner.
FENZ said the fire was contained just before 7am and firefighters were dampening down the site.
The fire is not being treated as suspicious.
Stuff – Joel Maxwell and Jessica Long
A fire on the Pukerua Bay side of the Paekakariki Hill has closed State Highway 1 in both directions. A witness said five fire and emergency engines were in attendance. HANNAH CALVER
The scrub fire on the hill above State Highway 1 north of Wellington has been put out.
The fire on Monday night had closed the road between Pukerua Bay and Paekākāriki.
The closure remained in place, but it was understood the road would reopen around 10:30pm.
Fire and emergency shift manager Murray Dunbar said crews were still “dampening down” the fire, but it was extinguished.
Dampening down was a process to ensure the fire could not reignite.
A spokesperson said Fire and Emergency were called at 8:02pm.
Twelve fire trucks attended the scene, and were joined by police at 8:06pm.
Traffic was diverted and the road was closed by NZTA.
Road users were told to take alternative routes such as Paekākāriki Hill Road, although this was not suitable for heavy vehicles.
Metlink Wellington said all trains on the Kāpiti line were suspended between Porirua and Waikanae.
The 7:44pm train service from Wellington to Waikanae was terminated at Plimmerton and passengers were advised to find alternative transport.
It was not yet clear when the train line would reopen, and it was understood two freight trains were currently waiting for clearance.
A scrub fire has closed State Highway 1 north of Pukerua Bay, and trains have been cancelled. NZTA
Police suspect the fire was deliberately set and are investigating, including reviewing CCTV footage. – MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
Police are investigating a suspected arson after a fire at Porirua’s North City shopping centre forced the evacuation of the entire mall on Friday afternoon.
It was suspected the fire – in which no one was injured – was deliberately lit among Christmas decorations in the toy section of Kmart, a police spokeswoman said.
“Some Christmas decorations have been damaged by fire, including a festively decorated tree. Police are at the scene and investigations are being carried out.
“It’s thought that some CCTV footage may lead to locating the Grinch who stole Christmas so early,” the spokeswoman said.
Shoppers were evacuated around 4:30pm after a small fire broke out in Kmart at North City mall in Porirua. – MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
“There’s so many combustibles in there. It could have been disastrous. The sprinkler contained it long enough for us to get in there,” Porirua Fire Brigade senior station officer Dene Wade said.
He commended the staff and management for their quick evacuation and organisation. “They knew what to do.”
Fire and Emergency shift manager Belinda Beets said the fire was called in on 111 at 4.10pm.
An alarm had gone off and the sprinkler system had activated in Kmart, which had contained the fire.
Beets said there were two fire engines in attendance and no reported injuries.
Porirua’s North City mall was evacuated after a fire in Kmart on Friday afternoon. Police suspect the fire was deliberately lit. – MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
Porirua resident Barbara Doyer was evacuated at about 4.30pm.
“We came out of Millers and there was a suspicious smell.”
“We heard it was on the roof, or maybe coming from Kmart. I heard it’s contained,” shopper Dylan Jones said.
The suspected arson lit up this festively adorned tree and scorched some nearby pink flamingos. – NZ POLICE
Gerard Earl, director for mall manager Colliers International, said systems had activated as expected and the mall had been evacuated promptly and swiftly.
Earl expected it would be open again by 9am on Saturday after it had been properly assessed.
He said there was a managed process underway to retrieve cars from the mall’s car park.
Evacuated shoppers watch on as emergency services arrive. – MONIQUE FORD/STUFF
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Bumper to bumper on Paekakariki Hill Rd. Photo / Rosalie Willis NZ Herald
The NZTA said due to the dangerous materials spilled, extraction of the crashed truck and clearing of the lanes was a complex operation.
Motorists were being asked to delay all unnecessary travel.
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Aftermath of a truck crash at Pukerua Bay on State Highway One north of Wellington. Photo / Kyle Mitchell
Earlier, SH2 was completely blocked earlier today at Remutaka Hill after two trucks became stuck on a corner.
The road has since fully reopened in both directions but NZTA is asking motorists to expect delays as congestion eases.
A vehicle has also broken down on the Featherston side of the Remutaka Hill, blocking the road there.
NZTA is expected to provide an update on SH1 on the Kapiti Coast before 2pm.
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Trucks queued near Pukerua Bay after crash on SH1 this morning. Photo / Rosalie Willis / Kapiti News
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Workers are hosed down after dealing with the aftermath of a truck crash at Pukerua Bay. Photo / Kyle Mitchell
SH1 is closed until further notice following an early morning truck crash near Pukerua Bay on the Kapiti Coast.
The truck and trailer unit carrying hazardous substances rolled on State Highway 1 north of Porirua, leaking chemicals on to the road and closing the road for most of the day.
NZTA Systems Manager Mark Owen said motorists need to appreciate that Paekakariki Hill Road is a tight, steep and windy road and people need to drive with caution, watch for oncoming traffic on the tight corners and also allow extra time for their travel.
“Holiday weekends are always busy and with the increase in traffic on the road and with this added road closure we are expecting more congestion and delays through this area.
“We ask motorists to consider delaying their travel and where possible, consider leaving once the road has reopened and the traffic is lighter.”
Once SH1 is open it will take some time to clear the truck from the road.
The highway is closed in both directions between Pukerua Bay and Plimmerton after the single-vehicle incident at 3.45am.
Police are warning the road could remain closed until late this afternoon.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) was seeking advice on how best to deal with the chemicals, a spokeswoman said.
The truck driver suffered minor injuries.
Witnesses said there was a large emergency service presence at the scene, with major detours in place.
The detour for the road closure on SH1 is via Paekākāriki Hill Rd but is only suitable for light vehicles.
Police said trucks were being stopped from travelling north and south on the detour.
Cars are u-turning at the roundabout near Palmers Garden Centre in Plimmerton.
Local resident Grant Patterson says the road up the coast was quiet.
“There are no cars on the road at all on the way to Pukerua Bay from what I can see and there are about 10 trucks jammed in at the weigh station.”
NZTA regional transport system manager Mark Owen said the incident was going to have a significant impact throughout this morning and probably the rest of the day.
“Obviously we are very conscious that lots of people want to head out of town for the long weekend so we’ll be working through the morning to work out what the plans are.”
Ian Lyall, the owner of Brentwood Transport Limited, a freight transport company based in Lower Hutt, managed to make it through to Wellington from Kapiti just before the road was closed this morning.
“I leave home around 3.15am so I was just in front of it.
“I got here which I’m quite lucky about I guess, I’m going to Australia today. My son’s still stuck in Paraparaumu but he’s going to jump on a train, get into town and I’ll pick him up.”
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Kind locals have been out offering drivers stuck on the road food and drinks. Photo / Truckies of NZ Facebook
Lyall said it is a major inconvenience and he feels sorry for everyone sitting in the traffic.
“Plenty of headaches for people travelling away for the weekend I’d imagine. Unfortunately not good timing.”
Lyall said normally they would send one or two trucks up the Kapiti Coast, but today they were having to go over the Remutaka Hill Road and through Wairarapa instead.
“It has Palmerston North freight on it so it has to get there today. Will probably add about half an hour to the journey.”
The NZTA said it would provide its next update by 2pm.
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A truck driver enjoys a scone delivered by locals while stuck on the road. Photo / Truckies of NZ Facebook
The planned closure of Paekākāriki Hill Road has been cancelled for today and the road will remain open.
Owen said crews would work with truck drivers at both ends of the road closure.
“Typically we just stack them up and they’ll just have to wait until we get more advice about what the options are.”
The detour route had been scheduled to close today from midday until 9pm to keep holidaymakers safe.
That was due to the risk to drivers from both the steep, winding road and merging with holiday traffic on State Highway 1.
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State Highway 1 at Airlie Road looks like a ghost motorway due to the road closure. Photo / NZTA
Owen said Paekākāriki Hill Rd was tight and torturous and not a highway.
He said motorists needed to be patient and careful.
“There are some fairly blind corners on that road and we want to try and keep the speeds down and keep that route open and safe for everyone that needs to use it.”
Summer is coming and its time to get the barbeque out for the traditional Kiwi feast.
Its also time to think about summer fire safety.
As the sun starts to shine, we also need to be aware of the power of the sun and how that can cause some fire safety issues around the home.
Take the following story that occurred this spring on a sunny Wellington day.
It was a beautiful spring day in Wellington, with the sun shining and the temperature hitting around 18 degrees.
A friend of mine came home to find her house full of smoke.
She had left a tea towel in a metal bowl on the windowsill, and this is what she came home to;
It would seem the heat of the day in the metal bowl has caused the tea towel to smoulder and possibly catch fire.
Thankfully there were no curtains above the bowl, but the heat did leave a burn on the wood of the window frame;
The house was fitted with smoke detectors, that appear to have activated as they batteries were dead when checked (now replaced), but the house is off the road, and during the day it seems no-body could hear them.
This is an event that could have resulted in much worse of an outcome.
Thankfully only very minor damage to the home and the loss of a tea towel were the only results.
So when thinking about fire safety, its not just the obvious that can cause a fire.
Sunlight on surfaces that absorb heat, light reflecting through a water bottle onto a surface, these small seemingly insignificant things can also be a risk.
Remember to install smoke detectors and test them, and if you hear a smoke alarm sounding, don’t be afraid to call 111 and have the Fire Brigade come and investigate.
One day the house that’s saved might be your own.
CHECK ITS ALRIGHT