A family is without a home, and a small community without their shop, after a major fire ripped through the historic Dunback Store at the weekend.
The blaze began about 2.30pm on Saturday and quickly consumed the 150-year-old timber building and family home, sending up a plume of smoke that was visible from Palmerston.
The store's co-owners, Keith and Philippa Casey, lived in the home at the back of the store with their five children, although it was understood only Mr Casey and an employee were inside when the fire started.
Both managed to escape after Mr Casey was woken by the sounds of the fire after a night shift at nearby Macraes mine.
Mr Casey could not be contacted yesterday, but Dunback residents spoken to were shocked by news of the fire and loss of the town's store, together with its petrol and diesel pumps.
Only the building's smouldering shell was left standing on Saturday night. A mechanical excavator finished the job hours later to prevent the remains - including a teetering chimney - toppling on to neighbouring properties.
Palmerston Volunteer Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Gary Johnston said the fire was believed to have started in the store's roof.
The store's owner was woken by ''strange noises'' coming from the roof, looked out the window and saw smoke, Mr Johnston said.
He grabbed precious items, including a laptop and photo albums, before escaping the burning building with his employee, Mr Johnston said.
The rest of his family arrived later to survey the damage, he said.
''[It] wasn't pleasant for them to come home to, but the good thing was that there were only two of them [inside the building] and it was the middle of the day, I guess.
''It certainly could have been a different outcome.''
Firefighters called from Palmerston could see the smoke plume as they drove towards Dunback, and called for reinforcements from the Waikouaiti volunteer brigade and rural fire team from Hampden, he said.
The Palmerston firefighters arrived about 10 minutes later to find the building ''well involved'', with parts of its roof collapsing, he said.
Lpg cylinders and chemicals stored inside the building - including kerosene and methylated spirits - were also exploding, although firefighters managed to prevent the flames reaching the petrol pumps at the front of the store, he said.
At the height of the blaze, about 17 firefighters - some wearing breathing equipment - were fighting it. Mr Johnston said the fire was among the biggest he had attended in 24 years as a Palmerston firefighter.
''We'd poured a lot of water on there because it was a big building. It took a fair bit of putting out.''
Water-pressure problems also meant firefighters had to use a mobile pump to take water from a nearby swimming pool at the former Dunback school, he said.
''We pretty much pumped that dry.''
The building, believed to be nearly 150 years old, was insured and had ''quite a number'' of working smoke alarms, he said.
However, it appeared none had activated as the fire took hold in the building's high roof cavity, he said.
The fire was not suspicious, although the exact cause had not been established and ''we'll probably never know now'', he said.
''There's just nothing left.''
