House blaze in west Auckland
A man was taken to hospital after suffering serious injuries in a house fire in west Auckland.
Emergency services arrived at the house fire on Archibald Rd, Kelston on September 21.
Station senior officer Jim Maclean said firefighters used a hose on the fire and searched the property as it was believed people were inside.
They found two men in the backyard.
‘‘One of whom had been dragged out of the building.’’
A third occupant was not home at the time, he said.
St John Ambulance Waita¯kere territory manager Andy Everiss said one man was in critical condition and was taken to Auckland City Hospital.
Firefighters had been in the house and had found no on else inside, he said.
Fire communications shift manager Paul Radden said emergency services received multiple calls about the fire.
About 16 firefighters were called to the single-storey address, he said.
Upon arrival crews found the property to be ‘‘well involved’’ in fire.
First-aid was administered to one person with injuries and was left in the care of an ambulance, he said.
Police partially blocked roads around the scene.
Students from nearby schools were asked by police to meet their parents at police cordons.
This included students from St Leonards Primary School and Kelston Boys High School, who were asked to avoid Archibald Rd.
Witnesses said they saw smoke just before 2pm.
Neighbour Kara, who asked that her last name not be published, said the fire began in one of the house’s bedrooms.
She was alerted to the fire by her dog.
Another local, Jaswin Singh, said the premises was a half-way house and caused significant concern for the community.
Singh said there were six schools near the house and locals had made several complaints to police, the local board and to the council.
Both women said the community would not be upset if the house was pulled down.
Fire investigators were looking into its cause.