Fatal Onehunga fire: Resident woke to ‘screaming and banging on my door’ – 1News

A fire broke out at a residential property on Trafalgar St in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga shortly after 7:00 a.m. On Friday, resulting in one death. Emergency services arrived at the scene around 7:20 a.m. To find the building engulfed in flames. Fire and Emergency NZ acting assistant commander Kenton Rusbridge confirmed that one person was found dead inside the property once crews were able to access the structure. Twelve fire appliances were dispatched to the site, with crews arriving from across the Auckland region, including units from Onehunga, Ellerslie, Mount Roskill, Balmoral, Auckland City, Otara, Remuera, Mangere, Avondale, Parnell, Otahuhu, and Papatoetoe. Emergency responders spent the morning working to contain and extinguish the blaze, which produced a significant plume of smoke visible over the area. According to Rusbridge, the severity of the fire was compounded by the condition of the interior of the home. “The building was heavily fuel-loaded as a result of some hoarding, resulting in the extreme fire conditions found by the fire crews,” he said. Several other occupants managed to escape the building. St John confirmed that three ambulances, an operations manager, and two rapid response vehicles were deployed to the scene. Four individuals were assessed by ambulance crews for minor conditions. Local resident Orini Johnson, who was at the property, reported waking to the sound of screams and the smell of smoke before evacuating the building. Police established cordons in the immediate vicinity, closing Trafalgar St between Pleasant St and Forbes St, and closing Symonds St to Aumoana Ln. Authorities indicated that these cordons were expected to remain in place for the duration of the day to facilitate the emergency response and subsequent investigation. Fire and Emergency NZ has stated that investigations into the cause of the fire are ongoing.