Woman left in burning Rangiora house - inquiry

Firefighters left a woman in a burning Rangiora house because they thought she was dead and wanted to preserve the scene, an inquiry has found.

A separate investigation into the conduct of two senior officers – one who took charge of the fire on September 20 – found they had drunk four to six beers before arriving at the scene, but accepted their judgment was not impaired.

Union officials have called the drinking investigation a "whitewash". Family members say they will not get full answers until a coroner's inquest.

Jack Chaston, 89, was pulled from the fire at his Rangiora home by a member of the public. His wife, Mary "Jean" Chaston, 87, died in hospital on September 21 as a result of the fire which started from an electric blanket in a bedroom.

The operational investigation found both people would have survived had they left the house immediately, as instructed during their emergency phone call. Instead, they tried to extinguish the fire with buckets of water.

National fire commander Mike Hall said at a media conference there was "considerable delay" finding Jean Chaston because firefighters were told incorrectly she was in the lounge.

While searching the rest of the house their breathing apparatus started signalling their air supply was low. They were on their way out when one man found her in a bedroom.

"The limited air supply put them under intense pressure and led them to the decision they made to evaluate Mrs Chaston .. . Under intense pressure and heat and smoke ... they thought she was deceased. They then left the building and a second crew went in to where Mrs Chaston was lying," Hall said.

"In hindsight, that decision was proven to be incorrect."

Chaston was left in the house for a maximum of 45 minutes from the start of the search, the report said.

The Fire Service would conduct training across the country re-emphasising removing the victim was a priority, and not to make a "snap decision" about life and death, he said.

Part of the rationale to leave what the firefighters thought was a body in the house was to preserve the scene, Hall said.

"There is an obligation under some circumstances to preserve the scene of a fatality, both the coronial requirements and crime scene requirements. Our people are trained to recognise the difference."

A review of procedures to ensure there is no conflict between rescue procedures and preservation of crime scene procedures is recommended in the report.

A separate, independent investigation by a Wellington QC, exonerated fire region manager Rob Saunders and North Canterbury area manager Ross Ditmer, who attended the incident after drinking beer.

It found they were not impaired by alcohol and no standards of conduct were breached.

"No further action will be taken by the Fire Service. Both these men acted responsibly and they have my full support," Hall said.

"As with any other part of society, [firefighters] will have an occasional drink. That's life.

"You can't deny the normal social institutions of the country, but you have to behave appropriately and not overdo it, and there is no evidence that my people overdid it on this occasion."

Ditmer, who spoke at the media conference yesterday, said he got his daughter to drive him to the incident so he could finish getting changed – not because he thought he would be over the limit. "I wasn't impaired. It was appropriate a senior officer attend such a serious call and I would do the same thing again."

Saunders was driven to the incident by his son, as he was "aware of the fact he had been drinking", the report said.

Jean Chaston's son, Bruce Frampton, said the family believed they would get a "true and accurate" picture of what happened only after a coroner's inquest.

"It is a report that was commissioned by the Fire Service, investigated by the Fire Service and any conclusions at this stage are those of only the Fire Service.

"In regard to the Wellington QC's investigation I would question how relevant or accurate that report could be. It was commissioned by the Fire Service ... done weeks after the event with no medical way to assess what effect alcohol may or may not have had on decision making."

New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union southern branch president Denis Fitzmaurice said the investigations were a "whitewash", addressing none of the union's concerns "about the abilities of the senior managers present on the evening."

- © Fairfax NZ News