Seven escape blazing house

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33452, 6 February 1974, Page 2

Seven escape blazing house

(.Xew Zealand Press Association.) NEW PLYMOUTH. February 5. Seven trampers escaped death or serious injury yesterday when fire razed an old house they were using as a base in thick bush 16 miles south of Whangamomona.

. were tied near the house. • were singed by the flames. ’ When they were released , [they headed straight for the .nearby Wanganui River to f cool off. The only injury was to . Michael Herlihy, who cut his tieye badly when he ran into tithe door in the rush to get i outside. I Mr Clince said it took I about a minute to get out of the house, and just as they . were clear the roof caved in. 1 Left with only their under- • wear, the group scavenged ‘ among the ruins when the > fire died down and managed ’ to find the tattered remains ; of shorts and shirts. Two of the trampers had > to walk the seven-hour trip : to their cars in bare feet. i Although they lostsjnany I hundreds of dollars worth of equipment, the group plan to I return to finish their track J clearing. Over the last year ■ Mr Clince and many other I trampers have been preparing the track for week-end ; i school parties. i

They are Paul Schraft. aged 24, Grant Smeaton. 22. Paul How. 20. Terry Brundson. 24, all of Hawera. Jim Wilson. 30, of Wanganui, John Clince, 45. of Eltham. and Michael Herlihy, 10, of Stratford. The leader of the Hampers. Mr Clince. today said that ’ he was awakened by smoke I'about 2.15 a.m. All seven • were sleeping in the front ’room of the abandoned - wooden house. 1 “I staggered to my feet. The smoke was so bad 1 t. could hardly breath. The ’fire was out in the fireplace • but flames were leaping up > the walls and loud puffing • noises were coming from the > ceiling.” ' Yelling at the top of his voice. Mr Clince woke the > others who grabbed as much i equipment as possible and i headed for the door. > “Jim opened the door and. I a wall of flames came in at I Lus. We ran like demons for ; the door and flung rifles and t packs on to the grass." I The men's dogs, which.