Neighbour saves two from fire

A neighbour's quick actions saved a sleeping couple from a fire that started in a pizza oven, firefighters say.

Paremoremo resident John O'Leary was instrumental in saving the Ridge Rd house and its two occupants after the property's adjoining deck went up in flames, Albany fire station officer Ron Henderson says.

Mr O'Leary's use of a garden hose on the house meant damage was kept to a minimum, Mr Henderson says.

"This guy saved the house with his quick thinking and saved two people."

The blaze was sparked by embers in an outdoor stone pizza oven which had not been extinguished, and was fuelled by a "significant pile" of manuka firewood nearby, Mr Henderson says.

Property owner Blair Cole says the all-weather covered deck and large oven are worth about $50,000 and he expects the clean-up to cost $75,000.

He says his family was away for the weekend, but they had house-sitters.

Mr Henderson says firefighters were notified at about 1am last Saturday, and three engines and a water tanker attended.

The deck on which the pizza oven stood was destroyed and in another couple of minutes the house would have been "well involved" in the blaze, he says.

He says firefighters used two high-pressure hoses for an hour to extinguish it.

Mr O'Leary noticed the fire when driving past the property and jumped the fence to try to wake the house-sitting couple inside, Mr Henderson says.

He says Mr O'Leary did "exactly the right thing" by opening the gates and parking his car outside with the hazard lights on and getting out the hose.

- © Fairfax NZ News