Large fire at Burnham military camp apartment

A large fire has destroyed part of a housing block at Burnham military camp in Canterbury, while a house has also been destroyed by fire in Rangiora.

Firefighters were called just after 2am to the blaze in a building on Toanui St, part of the Burnham army camp south of Christchurch.

Fire and Emergency NZ shift manager Blair Walklin said multiple calls were received just after 2am to a house on fire in the Burnham area.

“When crews arrived, the house was well ablaze. A number of attached units also suffered damage,” Walklin said.

The fire is now considered contained, but multiple fire appliances will remain at the scene into daylight.

The cause of the fire is unknown and a fire investigator will be attending, he said.

Authorities are yet to confirm how many people have been injured.

Crews from Rolleston, Dunsandel, Kirwee, Lincoln, Wigram, Ilam and Christchurch City have been fighting the fire.

Police and ambulance officers were also called to assist.

Photos from the scene show a section of the large two-storey weatherboard building has been gutted, with only charred, buckled framing and the roof remaining.

Weatherboards are also blackened and windows smashed on the adjoining apartments.

Burnham army camp is around 28km south of Christchurch. It hosts about 1300 military and civilian personnel, according to the NZ Defence Force website.

House linked to murdr catches ablaze in Rangiora

Meanwhile, firefighters have also been dealing with a house fire in the nearby town of Rangiora since about 4am.

Video supplied to the Herald shows flames enveloping the historic villa and leaping metres into the air.

The house on the corner of Southbrook Rd and South Belt is linked to the homicide investigation into the alleged murder of Richard Leman.

It was targeted by arsonists in last year and in 2022.

Witness Peter Benny described the fire as a “huge bonfire”, with flames higher than the telephone poles when he spotted it 100m away.

“It was huge…I stopped and I could feel the heat of the fire from the white line in the middle of the road.”

Realising the neighbours were still asleep – and the windows on their house were heating up – Benny woke the neighbours, got them out of their house and onto the street.

He told one resident to quickly grab her valuables.

“I said to the lady, best get your cars out of the garage because if your house goes, your cars are gone too.”

The heat of the fire was what surprised him, Benny said – it appeared to have stopped the traffic lights from functioning.

“From the middle of the road, you could have walked around in the undies, it was quite pleasant.”

Benny said it was lucky he had been “in the right place at the right time”.

Fenz shift manager Blair Walklin said multiple calls were received just after 4am and three local fire crews were sent to fight the fire.

The house was well ablaze when they arrive and around 5.30am they were still working to extinguish the fire.

The cause of the fire is unknown at this stage, he said.