Neville Bryant and his family have received donations of food and help in their quest to find a home after the Caen St property they rented was engulfed in flames on Thursday morning.
But the vitriol they faced has continued, with more people coming and laughing as they live in a small caravan outside the charred house.
Mr Bryant said news of the fire was met with celebration and mockery from some on social media on Thursday, caused by his stepson’s reputation due to allegations he had "interfered with a girl".
Neighbours offered tinned food and Age Concern was working on finding emergency accommodation.
He was going through a "battle" trying to find somewhere to stay.
When Mr Bryant went to Work and Income and a local property agent, he had been told to apply online.
It was a request he struggled to make sense of, as their computers were destroyed and they had no internet.
"They make it hard as they possibly can."
He felt overwhelmed with the amount of work and financial burden ahead.
All of the belongings in the bedroom, living room and kitchen were smoke damaged and had to be thrown away, which would cost $500 per skip.
"It’s not easy to do on a pension," he said.
As it burned through the living room wall of their home, which they had lived in for more than 15 years, the fire destroyed the family’s memorial wall with their important pictures.
It featured old photographs of their son, who died two years ago.
While showing the Otago Daily Times around the charred home, Mr Bryant was brought to tears when he discovered a picture frame that had survived the flames, displaying a photo of his pet dogs, two of which were dead.
The find was "really special."
The huge amount of work ahead of them, the financial strain and the hatred they faced would take weeks to overcome.
"This is harder than it was losing ... our son."
Much of the cruelty was posted in the comments section of Oamaru Today, a community page run by former journalist Allan Dick.
Mr Dick visited Mr Bryant yesterday morning to apologise for the comments made on his page.
He also apologised on his page, where he said "the ugliness of the attacks was appalling".
"I just wasn't expecting such cruel unpleasantness."
