The wife of the pilot and war hero killed when his helicopter crashed as he fought the Port Hills fires is "amazed" by the support for her family.
It has been revealed that because Steve Askin was still in the SAS - an elite army special forces unit - he did not have life insurance, meaning his wife and small children have been left with virtually nothing.
The 37-year-old died on Tuesday afternoon when the helicopter he was in crashed near the Sugarloaf telecommunications tower near the summit of the Christchurch hills.
He is survived by his wife Elizabeth, and children Isabelle, 7, and 4-year-old Bowie.
A Givealittle page was set up after Askin's death by his wife's cousin, Chris Wilton. By Sunday afternoon, more that $165,000 had been donated.
"Elizabeth is amazed how much support she has received from New Zealand and overseas," Ms Wilton said in a post on the Givealittle page published earlier today.
"She is still in shock but has been encouraged by all the tributes that have come through as people donate.
"I think everyone wants to support Elizabeth, Bowie and Isabelle because they know what a huge sacrifice Steve made - both in the army and fighting the Christchurch fires.
"But they also realise how much of a hard journey Elizabeth now must take with a four year old and seven year old to take care of on her own."
Mr Askin is a military hero who was awarded the NZ Galantry Star for his efforts fighting for the SAS in Afghanistan in 2014. His funeral will be held tomorrow at Christchurch's Wigram Airforce Base. SAS comrades will act as pallbearers.
Ms Wilton said Ms Askin had been "fretting about how she is going to provide for her family" since her husband's tragic death."
As Steve was still in the SAS he was not eligible for life insurance," she explained. "He also had a hefty student loan from helicopter pilot training (and) the young family were saving for a deposit on a house."
Ms Wilton said the donations were helping to "ease the burden" on Ms Askin and the messages of support were "a real help".
