Firefighters cleared of wrongdoing in death

Firefighters have been cleared of any wrongdoing in a fatal Canterbury house fire in which an elderly woman was left alive in the burning house.

Two senior firefighters who attended the fire after drinking at a barbecue earlier in the day have also been cleared.

The fire in Rangiora, on September 20, resulted in the death of 87-year-old Mary Jean Chaston.

There were allegations the firefighters bungled the job and that she may have survived if found earlier, after it took firefighters nearly an hour to find her and get her out.

A Fire Service operational report, released today, found Mrs Chaston was wrongly declared dead by the firefighters who first found her inside the house.

After initially being told Mrs Chaston was in the lounge, they found her in the bedroom.

They found no sign of life and as their breathing apparatus were running out of air they left her. A new crew went in to retrieve the body but found her still alive.

However, she died in hospital the next day.

The report found the firefighters acted in line with their training not to put their own safety at risk during a rescue, but it appeared there might have been a conflict between needing to preserve the scene of death and removing a person from the scene as soon as possible.

Overall the report concluded the firefighters responded appropriately.

The fire started in an electric blanket and attempts to extinguish it may have contributed to the fire. Both occupants would likely have survived if they had left immediately after their emergency phone call, the report said.

Meanwhile, Mary Scholtens, QC, conducted an employment-related inquiry into allegations two senior officers who attended the fire had been drinking at a barbecue earlier in the day.

Ross Ditmer and Rob Saunders were not rostered on and had attended the fire voluntarily.

Both accepted they had been drinking but said they were not affected or impaired.

Ms Scholtens agreed and said their decision to attend the fire did not breach any relevant standards and did not have any relevant impact on the fire's outcome.

"Both these men acted responsibly and they have my full support," said Fire Service national commander Mike Hall.

No further action would be taken by the Fire Service.

Mr Hall said there was a surprising amount of unfounded public speculation about the firefighting operation.

"I would like to make it clear that all firefighters work in dangerous conditions and must rely on their judgment and training to both fight the fire and keep themselves safe.

"It is not helpful for anyone outside of the fire to second guess decisions that needed to be made under very difficult circumstances."

Mr Hall said it was understandable the crew took some time to find Mrs Chaston given the heavy smoke, intense heat and searchers receiving incorrect information about her location in the house.

The operational review team made several recommendations related to enhancing search and rescue training and improving on other techniques which would be acted on by the Fire Service, he said.

- NZPA