Ashburton Guardian, Wednesday, September 4, 2013

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Wednesday, September 4, 2013

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THE INDEPENDENT VOICE OF MID CANTERBURY

Family grapples with charred reality BY SUE NEWMAN

SUE.N@THEGUARDIAN.CO.NZ

Bianca MacDonald and Daniel Newton have hit rock bottom. On Monday their Ashburton home of two years was destroyed by fire and yesterday as they sifted through the ruins, they said they faced a future without money, possessions or a place to live. But they’re also smiling because they and their 16-month-old daughter Shelby were unhurt in the fire. When your home has been destroyed, it’s the small things that make you smile – and make you cry, Bianca said. “Yes we’ve lost everything and we weren’t insured, but we did find a couple of photo albums. We’ve still got the only photo we had taken of us and all of Shelby’s photos are on my computer at school.” This is the third time she has lost her home. The first time was in the September 2010 earthquake, the second in February 2011. She’s clinging to the hope that bad things come in threes. “I was thinking, ‘God, I hope that’s it’ and then Daniel broke a mirror, but maybe a fire-damaged mirror doesn’t count.” Bianca was at polytech, Shelby at preschool when the fire started. Daniel had put a pan of oil on stove to heat and had left the room for a few minutes. When he returned flames were leaping up the kitchen wall.

“I ran outside to get the hose, then thought about the electricity. I raced back inside to find the switchboard, but there was smoke everywhere and I couldn’t find it. I lost my phone in the panic and just ran outside screaming,” he said. His screams alerted neighbours who called the fire brigade. “It’s just a blur. It happened so fast. You see that ad on the television, it happens way faster

than that. I’ve watched it a thousand times, but you think it will never happen to you.” As the couple sifted through the ruins of their life, Daniel said there was virtually nothing untouched by either the fire or smoke. They have a new flat to move into – in six weeks’ time. Until then they plan to live in a caravan on the house site. They’ll be living without power and wearing donated clothing, but

they’re not complaining. “It’ll be a bit like camping,” Daniel said. He says he’s as ‘gutted as the house’ about losing everything they owned, but says he’s done his crying. He’s now trying to be positive and look to the future. Their biggest need over the coming weeks, apart from clothing and household goods, will be finding somewhere to store donated items.

Daniel Newton and Bianca MacDonald in the ruins of their rental home. PHOTO TETSURO MITOMO 030913-TM-045 Check out our video online

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