An Invercargill couple have lost “everything” and their grandson is in Dunedin Hospital after an overnight blaze gutted their home and business.
The child, who is 10 years old, received severe burns to his face, arms and legs in the fire, which is understood to have sparked in his room.
Eight fire crews and a ground unit were called to the historic Pall Mall Arcade building in Dee St just before 1am today.
Videos from the scene showed 1 metre-high flames streaming from the windows of the building, with noises like gunshots popping in the background.
At the time of the incident, they had family members staying in a separate dwelling above the store.
Amongst them was a younger couple and another man, also in his 60s.
Extended family of the couple involved told the Herald they understood the blaze started in the bedroom of the couple’s grandson.
One family member had been outside smoking and realised upon returning that smoke had spread across the building.
“So he went around and bashed down everyone’s doors,” a member of the extended family said.
The family understood at this stage the fire was sparked by an electrical fault and the child had to be dragged out of the bedroom.
“He’s in quite a serious condition,” the extended family member said.
“[The couple] have gone up to Dunedin (Hospital) because they’re better equipped than Invercargill to handle burns.”
Family said the couple involved were traumatised by the blaze, which they said had left them with virtually nothing left to their name.
“It was their primary source of income, they’ve lost that and all their personal belongings, plus they don’t have contents insurance - so it’ll just be basic building insurance they can claim.”
In response, the family have launched a Givealittle page to help the couple rebuild their lives.
About six people were evacuated and all were treated for smoke inhalation. One person also suffered superficial burns to their limbs, the spokesperson said.
Fire investigator Murray Milne-Maresca was at the scene this morning and said teams were working to control the blaze inside the building.
"Firefighters are still working in the roof space to put the fire out - is not completely out at this stage. We can't start our investigation until safe to do so."
Structural engineers would visit the site.
Mr Milne-Maresca said at this stage the fire was not classified as suspicious.
- Additional reporting by Luisa Girao
