Neighbours save artist’s home

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The quick actions of a former Super Rugby player's family have helped save an elderly artist's home and extensive collection of paintings from going up in flames.

Tane Tu'ipulotu was in the kitchen of his Glenmonarch Place home with his sister Faiana Armitage and mother Barbara Tu'ipulotu when they smelled smoke coming from the house next door about 11am.

Fire broke out in an artist's kitchen due to a roller cupboard coming down on a toaster today.

Barbara quickly phoned the fire service before going to check it out.

'I said ‘I can smell something burning'. I could smell plastic,” says Barbara.

'We looked through the whole house and then I looked outside and saw a small amount of smoke coming through the roof.”

With firefighters on the way Tane, a former Hurricanes and Chiefs Super Rugby player, and Faiana frantically ran around the house to ensure no one was inside, but the smoke was too thick.

Tane tried the front door, which was unlocked, but smoke began to pour from the entrance.

It is understood a woman in her 70s lives alone in the house with a pet dog but was not home at the time of the fire.

Barbara says the dog was in the house but was unharmed and being cared for by a nearby neighbour.

She says the woman is an artist and the home is full of paintings and artwork, including the garage visible while firefighters were at the scene.

Tauranga Fire Brigade senior station officer Mark Keller says when firefighters arrived smoke was pouring from the roof and the kitchen was in flames.

Smoke alarms in the house were working and still sounding when fire brigades arrived.

Seven firefighters wearing breathing apparatus managed to extinguish the fire, which left the kitchen gutted, says Mark.

'There was no water damage, but there is reasonable fire damage in the kitchen.

'The fire was burning quite well when we arrived.”

Greerton station officer Paul van Kol says a kitchen appliance garage caused the fire after the door came down on the toaster, turning it on.

Appliance garages are small cupboards where toasters and a jug are stored behind a roller door, and have been the cause of several other house fires, says Paul.

'The door came down on the toaster and turned the toaster on.

'The toaster was inside the cupboard, still going. It got to the stage where it caught fire and caught the kitchen on fire.”

Local firefighters have done past prevention campaigns on these fire causes, handing out brochures to kitchen studios and manufacturers.

Kitchen trends change, but appliance garages were built in the era of the Glenmonarch Place house, says Paul.

'They are probably not so common nowadays. I'm not sure if they still do make them or not.”

'Everyone else who has one of those in their house should be more vigilant in future.”

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