The son said he was in bed and on his phone at their Hona Rd family home in Ngāpuna just before 7.30am when he heard a crackling noise.
Initially he thought it was raining outside, but he realised when he got up that the house was on fire. He said the smoke and flames were coming from the washhouse area.
He quickly got his partner and his father out of the house, moved their truck away for safety and told his father to get inside the truck to stay warm.
The son said he tried to go back inside the house to get his phone, but heard a bang from the truck.
It had crashed into a nearby fence. His father was in the driver’s seat.
His son rushed to him and told him to breathe and be calm.
“I said ‘you must be having a heart attack, just breathe please’ … I was hugging him, and he was all good, I was talking to him saying, ‘just calm down, and relax’.”
Hona Rd in Rotorua was closed for a short period while firefighters battled a blaze at a house. Photo / Ben Fraser
The son told the Rotorua Daily Post that emergency services arrived, but his father died a short time later.
He described his father as an “incredible” man who had worked 35 years in the bush before injuries and his poor health took a toll.
He made sure everyone was fed, including struggling families, the son said.
“Our cupboards were never empty.”
Another whānau member described him as a “god” who was hard-working.
“He showed me what a real dad was.”
A family friend said he was a “lovely man”.
His son told the Rotorua Daily Post he suspected the fire started from an electrical problem, as the house’s wiring had concerned him.
The damaged house after the fire on Hona Rd in Rotorua. Photo / Ben Fraser
He said the home was about 100 years old, and he had been trying to convince his father to use his KiwiSaver to get the house fixed up.
He said some plug sockets were blown and some lights didn’t work.
“It was inevitable; we knew it was coming, that was why I was egging him on to get his KiwiSaver. But hey, they are all just stories now.”
He said their home was potentially not destroyed, but they had lost a lot of their possessions.
He said thankfully, their family photos were saved.
“There’s four generations of photos in there, going back to the 1860s.”
Fire crews at work on Hona Rd in Rotorua. Photo / Ben Fraser
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said two crews were sent to the scene and an area 10m by 15m was “well-involved” in fire on arrival.
Hona Rd was closed for a time while fire crews worked to extinguish the blaze.
A Hato Hone St John spokesperson said the service was notified at 7.17am of a fire incident in Ngapuna. One ambulance and a rapid response unit attended.
A police spokesperson said they were called to a sudden death on Hona Rd, and the death did not appear to be suspicious.
A fire safety investigator was to inspect the scene and the fire’s cause was yet to be determined.
Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.