The scene at the Southbridge fire today. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Ben Lappage’s says the loss of his late father’s beloved vintage car collection in a blaze at Southbridge is tragic but he is relieved no-one was hurt.
Eleven ground crews and two helicopters battled the blaze near the Rakaia River on Wednesday, which Fire and Emergency believed was likely started by forestry burn piles.
Firefighters dealt with eight fires across the district, including another large fire in Springfield, in strong winds.
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Fire crews continued to battle the Southbridge fire today.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Assistant Commander Kevin McCombe said it was currently controlled to 38 hectares with a 2.6km perimeter.
“It is deep seated in mostly pine forestry slash, and we have 30 firefighters, 10 trucks and heavy machinery crews currently working hard turning over logs to extinguish the fire,” he said.
Some of the firefighters dealing with the blaze. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
The fire tore through two large sheds on Ben Lappage’s family property. They contained vintage cars, car parts and a tractor, as well as a lifetime of memories.
His father Nick Lappage was a car aficionado from a young age.
Lappage said most of the cars destroyed by the fire were Mark II Ford Cortinas dating from the late 1960s, as well as a 1962 Massey Ferguson tractor, in various states of disrepair.
The sheds contained 10 to 15 cars and the tractor, but about 50 cars worth of parts.
“My old man spent 30 years buying wrecked cars and parting them out and kept the best stuff to use for his own cars,” he said.
“That’s an irreplaceable collection gone now because you’ll never get the stuff he had in there ever again, it’s just not available.”
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
Lappage said firefighters told him the fire took hold at speed.
“As far as I’ve been told with that wind yesterday, once the fire took hold, it was minutes. Once those sheds caught fire, it was game over,” he said.
He was relieved no-one was hurt.
“We had contractors harvesting the trees on site at the time. They weren’t hurt, their gear wasn’t damaged. As tragic as it is, you can always get more stuff, but the fact that noone was hurt was a real positive,” he said.
One of his father’s first cars, purchased when he was about 19 years old, was among those that went up in flames.
Lappage said his parents had always planned to retire to the Southbridge property but both died before they could make their dream come true.
He and his two brothers took over the running of the farm following their father’s death, almost to the day of the fire, 13 years ago. Their mother died a decade later, on the same day.
Fire investigators would be arriving later today to investigate the cause and origin of the fire, McCombe said.
People should avoid lighting any fires in Canterbury today, and check burn piles ahead of further windy conditions.
“High winds are forecast again today, and we also urge people to check any existing burn piles to make sure they are fully extinguished,” he said.
Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon
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