January 29, 2009

A Rotorua family of seven has had a lucky escape from a suspicious fire in their home.
The family was in their Pohutukawa Dr house when the fire started yesterday morning.
Police and Rotorua Fire Service were called to the Owhata house about 7.30am after the teenager at the house raised the alarm.
Detective Sergeant John Wilson of Rotorua police said no one was hurt in the fire and it was being treated as suspicious.
'We have spoken to a person of interest ... And we are still investigating.'
Mr Wilson said the fire 'gutted' the house.
Rotorua fire safety officer Stuart Bootten said it appeared the fire started in the lounge.
He said two fire trucks went to the blaze.
'They could see a large column of smoke from the Te Ngae Rd, Sala St intersection.'
Mr Bootten said that by the time fire crews arrived at the house, it was well ablaze.
He said the firefighters were quick to control the fire but remained at the house for some time to dampen hotspots.
Mr Bootten said there was a crowd of people lining the streets watching firefighters put out the blaze but none of the neighbours spoken to by The Daily Post wanted to comment.
Mr Bootten said the house didn't appear to have any smoke alarms.
'It is just a timely reminder for people to make sure they have working smoke alarms,' Mr Bootten said.
He said making sprinkler systems compulsory would also cut down on the number of house fires in Rotorua. 'A little bit of water damage is a lot easier to clean up than replacing a whole house.'