'Horrible': Electric blanket fire rips through couple's home and possessions, killing dog
A couple’s beloved dog got a final cuddle before succumbing to his injuries from a house fire thought to have been started by an electric blanket.
Hastings couple Ben Shepherd, 33, and Rose Lauron, 31, have lost everything in the weekend fire that ripped through their flat in Mahora.
They’ve rented the home for the past three years with their two dogs Jack and Daisy, but are now grieving the loss of Jack and facing an uncertain future.
On Saturday night, Shepherd and his sister were out with friends while Lauron was at home preparing for her overnight shift as a nurse at Hawke’s Bay Hospital, which started at 11pm.
Shepherd said it was the first time he had gone out for a while and with his sister agreeing to sober drive, he was taking his time enjoying the company.
But as they climbed in the car to head home about 2am on Sunday, Shepherd got a call telling him his house was on fire.
When he arrived at the scene, there were two fire engines in front of his smouldering flat.
“Someone came up to the window and said, ‘your dog’s not doing very well’,” he said.
Wrapped in a blanket on the lawn, Shepherd found Jack, a 3-year-old Maltese Shih Tzu mix, dying from smoke inhalation.
“I just sort of came and gave him a bit of a cuddle,” he said.
“They tried to resuscitate him but I think there was just too much smoke, he just suffocated.
“We’ve got another dog who actually went outside because there’s a dog door in the house, but I think [Jack] was just so scared he just went to his bed and was waiting for someone to come and sort him out.”
Ben Shepherd and Rose Lauron at the back door of their Mahora rental property, which was ravaged by fire. Photo / Jack Riddell
Lauron said they were in mourning over Jack.
“We cry all the time. It’s horrible,” she said.
“It’s almost like you’ve lost your son because we just babied him a little bit too much,” Shepherd said.
When Lauron was told what had happened, she managed to leave work early and found Shepherd on their front lawn.
The two shared their grief before a firefighter took them through the remains of their home.
Lauron said the firefighters at the scene told her the blaze started from an electric blanket that was left on or from the power board it was connected to.
The fire ripped through the flat, destroying almost everything in its path.
The couple didn’t have contents insurance for their rental and are now without most of their possessions.
“My clothes are all gone,” Lauron said.
“So all the clothes I have right now have all been given to me, which is really good, even undies and everything. There was nothing left.”
“There are so many ifs and buts, like what if we did this? What if we did that?” Shepherd said.
“It really hurts because you just don’t know.”
The couple, who have been together six years, are now rebuilding their lives at Shepherd’s parents’ house in Taradale.
Shepherd’s sister has started a Givealittle page to help them.
Jack Riddell is a multimedia journalist with Hawke’s Bay Today and has worked in radio and media in the UK, Germany, and New Zealand.
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