Hoarder's Home Drew 19 Complaints Before Fire
In the early hours of Saturday morning the 'materials', which included piles of scrap wood, ignited and quickly spread.
Nineteen complaints were made in one year to Hastings District Council about a home surrounded by hoarded goods before it caught fire over the weekend.
But firefighters as recently as eight months ago did not deem the pile a fire hazard, because of a lack of ignition source – meaning there was no enforcement option available to authorities.
In the early hours of Saturday morning the 'materials', which included piles of scrap wood, ignited and quickly spread to the Frederick Street home, near the Mahora shops.
Firefighters were called from Hastings, Napier and Taradale. One person was treated by ambulance staff at the scene.
Police said on Monday the fire was now being treated as suspicious, and they were investigating.
Neighbours and locals who have watched the pile in the yard grow over the past few years say they have been stunned at the lack of council action at what they claim was an obvious fire risk.
A council spokesperson said it had received the complaints, but after exploring the Health Act, Building Act and the Resource Management Act it found 'no enforcement tools available' to allow it to remove goods from the private property.
The council spokesperson said staff were exploring whether there were any other options for enforcement before the fire broke out.
The council has now employed contractors for an urgent clean-up of the charred debris at the house, the cost of which is yet to be determined.
A close neighbour, who declined to be named, said the house was set up like a 'fortress' and said the last four and a half years living beside an 'obvious' fire risk had been 'hell' for her family.
She said she was lucky in the early hours of Saturday morning she was lying awake when 'all of a sudden the room was light'.
By the time her husband went outside to have a look and came back in, the blaze had spread from the stuff piled in the front yard to the neighbours' house.
'We woke up our three children and my mother-in-law and took them over the road, then grabbed our dog and birds.
'I also grabbed my go bag, which has our birth certificates in it, because I just knew that one day this would happen.
'Things were exploding. It was scary as hell. Just nuts man.'
Among the debris was a charred gas bottle, which was placed on the footpath near the home at Frederick Street on Saturday.
Firefighters remained onsite most of the day with parts of Frederick Street closed to traffic.
The neighbour said she had made numerous complaints to the council about the piles of goods around the property.
'I've been sent from the council to the police to fire and back to the council.
'People have said to me 'why don't you just move?'
'It's not that simple. We bought in the boom, so paid top dollar and the fortress wasn't there then – you could see the front door.'
Fire Emergency New Zealand Hawke's Bay advisor for risk reduction Clayton Locke said the house was assessed roughly eight months ago and no fire hazard was found.
A fire risk was different from a fire hazard, he said.
'[Even] your car parked on the side of the road can be a fire risk.
'A fire hazard has an ignition source such as an incinerator in your backyard, with grass up to the window sills,' Locke said.
He said if a property was found to have a fire hazard, firefighters' first approach would be education, before then issuing a notice of remedy.
Rochelle Sudfelt from ClearHoarding NZ – a task force dedicated to raising awareness, reducing stigma and providing support for homeowners who hoard – said she also made a complaint about the house last year.
'Someone from the council had assessed the property and didn't deem it a risk to the environment until it spilled on the berm,' she said she was told.
She said one in 20 homes in New Zealand was considered at risk of becoming a 'hoarding house'.
'Fire is the greatest risk to people inside these homes as well as fire and emergency staff who put themselves at risk getting inside to help people. '
Another nearby resident said the council was receiving ongoing complaints about the Frederick Street property.
'I live just down the road, the footpath always had items being dropped on council land outside.
'I asked the council if they could advise the occupant to remove it and if it could do something about the risk it was creating.
'The items were then moved into the property until the room inside was running out quickly.
'I found the council's reply hard to believe. It said 'sorry, we understand your concern, but there is unfortunately nothing we can do, we are aware of the property, however, we can refer your complaint to the fire services to look into'.
'Nothing happened. This property has been a fire and safety concern for years.'
Police urged anyone with information to contact Police on 105 and quote 250621/9027.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Otago Daily Times
25-07-2025
- Otago Daily Times
Cottage dream turns to ‘misery'
A distraught woman fears her rebuilt Central Otago gold rush-era cottage will be reduced to rubble after it came to the attention of council bureaucrats. Roxburgh East resident Lou Farrand said she was facing fines she could not pay, the cost of securing a retrospective building consent, or losing the "dream" stone cottage she bought nine years ago and preserved. "I didn't expect a damehood but thought they might have said thank you for looking after it," Mrs Farrand, 76, said. "If they'd just come to visit and had a cuppa we could have sorted it out without all this threatening me with fines. "I just love the place, but it has caused me more misery than I've ever had in my life." The work done at the cottage came to the Central Otago District Council's attention years after it was completed and, the council said, only when Mrs Farrand complained about neighbouring dogs barking that would have affected her ability to rent out the property. Lou Farrand, of Crossan's Cottage, in East Roxburgh, holds a letter from the Ministry of Justice regarding a fine from the Central Otago District Council relating to work done on the cottage, which was built in 1865 and preserved in 2015 by Mrs Farrand. Inset (top): The cottage's restored interior and (bottom) exterior. The council, for its part, said Mrs Farrand bought a "deteriorated and fallen down" property, in Roxburgh East Rd — and then rebuilt it without a building consent. Mrs Farrand said in December last year she got a phone message while at a Christmas event from a council enforcement officer. "I felt sick — there had been no prior contact," she said. The message said she had made extensive modifications to the building and would have to seek retrospective permissions for them. Council regulatory services manager Lee Webster said the council issued a notice to fix under section 40 of the Building Act that gave Mrs Farrand two options to remedy the non-compliance — either apply for a certificate of acceptance, essentially a retrospective building consent for the works, or remove the unconsented building works. Mrs Farrand said removing the unconsented building works, including her new replacement roof, macrocarpa ceiling and a wall removed when the cottage was used by a blacksmith, would mean demolishing the building. Mrs Farrand said she could not afford to pay fines for non-compliance or to engage a structural engineer to gain the certificate of acceptance the council sought. "I wish I'd died [before hearing from the council] because I'm quite old and I would have kept my dream and not be going through this." Mr Webster said a visit to the property had not been necessary as the council had details regarding the unconsented building works from Mrs Farrand herself. Photos she posted to social media showed the building was in a collapsed state, consisting of only about half the exterior walls and no internal structure or roof, he said. Mrs Farrand said she bought the property after selling her Auckland property in 2015 and started her remedial work in September that year. It was finished nine months later. At least 90% of the original walls were still standing when she bought the property, she said. She had first seen the cottage from the road. She viewed it as a "poor little darling" and had hoped someone would fix it up. When she found it was for sale, Mrs Farrand took up the challenge herself. The roof and ceiling needed replacing, along with one wall that had been removed so horses could access a forge when the building housed a blacksmith's shop. The East Roxburgh cottage as it was when built. PHOTOS: JULIE ASHER & SUPPLIED There were no internal walls and it had been left an open space with the original fireplace at one end and a coal range at the other, she said. Mr Webster said the council looked forward to hearing from Mrs Farrand and preferred not to have to issue infringement notices "and that Ms Farrand worked with council to address the non-compliance". "However, if Ms Farrand cannot afford to pay the infringement, this would be referred to the courts, with the additional court costs, too. "If Ms Farrand speaks with council, we can discuss a payment plan, negating the need to refer this to the courts to recover these costs." However, Mrs Farrand said she had already been fined $1000 by the council because she had not returned some forms they had requested. She had not paid the fine and it had now been passed on to the Ministry of Justice, from whom she had received a letter to which she had not responded. The cottage was originally built by the Crossan family in 1865. The older Crossan children arrived in Roxburgh from Scotland and, with the help of Chinese neighbours, built the stone cottage. Eventually the rest of the family — mother, father and 11 siblings — lived at the property.
NZ Herald
22-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Utilising and protecting Bay of Plenty's geothermal taonga
Bay of Plenty Regional Council's geothermal programme leader Penny Doorman said the resource was a taonga that was generally well managed, and there was even scale for greater use at some sites. But she said ongoing reform to the Resource Management Act – legislation that ordered 'outdated' management plans be reviewed – resulted in the regional council pausing the wider regional management plan for the systems. 'We've had to pivot a little bit because with the resource management reforms that are under way, council decided not to progress the region-wide plan change, they thought it would be better to wait until there's a bit more certainty about that. 'But they have agreed to still go ahead with the changes to the Rotorua part of that regional plan change.' Up to 29% of overall use of geothermal water in the Tauranga system was for horticulture, and made up 96% of geothermal water allocated to non-geothermal activities. In a submission, fruit and vegetable growers raised concerns that changes to geothermal systems management might result in further costs and compliance for users. However, Doorman said access to water for horticultural irrigators in Tauranga was not changing and the plan was progressing, however, it would consider changes to allocation limits in Rotorua. 'We have made some recommendations for changes to the allocation [in Rotorua]. There's always been a limit to how much geothermal water can be taken from the system and not reinjected, and that limit has just been reviewed through some careful monitoring,' she said. 'We're basically saying if you're taking geothermal water out of the system to take heat, then you've got to reinject it.' She said it identified a system-wide cap to the amount of heat that could be taken off the system. 'The reason for that is that because it's really important to keep your water levels and your geothermal aquifer high but also hot because that's what our geyser system relies on,' she said. 'If we can keep heat within this safe operating space, then we know that we can protect the mauri or the health of the geothermal system.' Meanwhile, in its submission, industry group Horticulture New Zealand said consent conditions should be reasonable and proportional to the environmental risks at the key Tauranga site. 'The council's science has shown that the water quantity will run out before heat in the Tauranga system, so volume is the limiting factor rather than the heat source,' it said. 'Given that this is the case, non-geothermal uses of war water such as irrigation should not be restricted on the basis of retaining the heat source.' It said consent conditions should also be 'mindful of cumulative compliance cost on users'. It added that there was significant potential for low-temperature geothermal water to be used with ground-source heat pumps for zero-carbon greenhouse vegetable growing in future. Growers were also exploring new heat sources for their greenhouses in areas like geothermal, because of the rising cost and limited availability of gas. GNS Science, now functioning as Earth Sciences New Zealand with Niwa, developed a geothermal and groundwater interactive map to help greenhouse growers switch to geothermal heating. Doorman said investigations were ongoing, including into the potential of Tauranga's low-temperature geothermal system. She said collaboration with mana whenua was key to managing the natural resources. - RNZ
NZ Herald
18-07-2025
- NZ Herald
Napier: Praise for restaurant response after much-loved former deputy mayor dies at family dinner
His family want to thank those who helped on the night, and said the restaurant and emergency services were caring, respectful and responded quickly. The former farmer has been remembered as a family man and friend to many. Harvey was a founding councillor on Hastings District Council in 1989, which was formed after the amalgamation of three smaller councils. He served as a Hastings councillor for 12 years until 2001, and was deputy mayor for one term (a period of three years). Harvey Boyden in his last year serving on Hastings District Council in 2001. Photo / Duncan Brown His wife of 66 years, Patricia, said he was a 'marvellous husband' and would be sorely missed by the entire family. That includes his four children, 14 grandchildren, and four great grandchildren - many of whom shared fond memories of the family patriarch at his funeral on Monday. Harvey grew up in Dannevirke and went on to become dux of Dannevirke High School. He trained as a shearer under the legendary Godfrey Bowen and was a long-standing farmer. He and his wife raised their family on their sheep and beef farm in Kereru, inland from Hastings, and the couple moved to Hastings in 2001, where they have lived since. 'He had a marvellous life,' Patricia said. 'He was very good at making friends with everybody.' She said he was also an avid gardener, and would make a weekly trip to Nourished for Nil to donate fresh produce from their garden for people in need. 'He was always very generous.' She said the ambulance staff and Origami restaurant had been very helpful. Origami is a popular Japanese restaurant in Napier. Photo / NZME 'The ambulance came very quickly and they were very good. 'And the restaurant, Origami, has been very supportive,' she said, adding a restaurant representative had visited their home. Harvey's daughter, Sally Roach, said her father always took an interest in others. 'Dad was humorous and a good storyteller and a family man,' she said. 'He could strike up a conversation with anyone.' She said he was also a good mentor and 'very patient, kind and caring'. Harvey also formerly served as chairman of the Hawke's Bay branch of the National Party, for about four years. Origami restaurant said in a statement: 'Our thoughts are with the family during this tough time. 'We've done our best to provide support to those affected by this unfortunate accident.' Hato Hone St John sent two ambulances and two rapid response vehicles about 7.45pm, on the night of the incident. Police also attended and the matter has been referred to the Coroner. What to do in an emergency Hato Hone St John says the first thing to do when you suspect someone might be choking is to ask 'are you choking?' - to find out if they can breathe. If they can't breathe at all, call 111 for an ambulance. Tell the call handler the person is choking and follow their instructions. If they are conscious and can't breathe at all, hit them one to five times very hard on the back, and start chest thrusts. If they can breathe, encourage them to cough, but do not hit them on the back. If they are unresponsive and not breathing normally, start CPR. If a person can't breathe at all, they generally can't cough, breathe, or speak. Gary Hamilton-Irvine is a Hawke's Bay-based reporter who covers a range of news topics including business, councils, breaking news and cyclone recovery. He formerly worked at News Corp Australia.
