A volunteer firefighter said his crew initially had a blaze at a Middlemarch property under control yesterday afternoon, but strong winds and a lack of water resulted in the home being left a husk.
Middlemarch Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer John Foote said after arriving about 2.30pm, the volunteers had the fire ‘‘really well knocked back’’ within 20 minutes.
However, the lack of a reticulated water supply in Middlemarch meant when the tanker ran dry, winds fanned the flames which resulted in the home being rapidly engulfed and destroyed within another half an hour, Mr Foote said.
Pumps and tankers converged on the town from Ranfurly, Outram and Mosgiel, but arrived too late to save the small cottage.
The Middlemarch appliance and tanker were back in action shortly after 8pm yesterday when the fire flared up again in part of the house which had survived the earlier blaze, and had to be extinguished by firefighters using two fire hoses, and wearing breathing apparatus.
The cause of the earlier fire was unknown and a fire investigator would be on scene today.
However, Mr Foote believed it was accidental, and it was not viewed as suspicious.
Mr Foote said he was ‘‘going to have a chat’’ with Fire and Emergency New Zealand today regarding his brigade getting an additional tanker or a higher-capacity tanker, given challenges arising partly from the area’s isolation.
He understood the property owner was at home when the fire started, but had to rush to a local dairy and use its phone to dial 111 after fleeing the blaze.
‘‘He did the right thing by leaving everything behind.’’
The owner of a nearby dairy said the owner of the home on fire had entered her store to call emergency services.
No-one was home at the time the fire started in the small holiday property, but the owner appeared ''very shaken'', she said.
