Family loses all in Christmas fire

Rodent are being blamed for a fire that ripped through a family's home on Christmas Day leaving them with nothing but the clothes on their backs.

Ian Merson said he felt numb after the fire tore through the semi-rural home at Puketapu, north of Hastings, as the family sat down to Christmas dinner at a relative's house.

He and his wife built the large family home 23 years ago where they raised their two children, who were home to celebrate a yuletide season now coloured by calamity.

"There's absolutely nothing - we've got no clothes on our back and nowhere to live," Merson said.

Nothing was salvageable as smoke damage ruined everything from the Christmas tree to Lego destined for future grandchildren.

Merson said the fire was thought to have started in a bathroom fan after rodents gnawed through wiring. "The bathroom's just melted. Everything's just smoke-damaged or unsalvageable, there's nothing left.

"My kids' family home is gone and they knew every square inch of this place."

He said the catastrophe was so painful he would not let his wife inside the house because "she wouldn't be able to handle it" and said he had struggled to drive through the farm gate.

Merson, who is insured, is a roofing contractor and also runs an apple orchard from the farm.

He had to dump stock yesterday at reduced prices because he was unable to water it.

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Family loses all in Christmas fire