Josh Adam and his father Justin Adam look through the remains of their sleepout that burnt down with two kittens and a cat inside on Wednesday morning, in Raureka, Hastings. Photo / Warren Buckland

Hastings family grieve loss of cat and kittens in sleepout fire

Author: James Pocock,
Publish Date: Wed, 31 May 2023, 4:10PM

A Hastings family are grieving the loss of their two kittens and a young cat in a fire that consumed their sleepout early on Wednesday.

Firefighters extinguished a fire that had nearly completely enveloped a sleepout at a property on Gascoigne St in Hastings at 5.24am.

A fire investigator was also at the scene of the unexplained fire on Wednesday morning.

Homeowner Justin Adams said everyone in their house was in bed when a neighbour started “banging” on their front door to warn them.

“[We could see] a little flash through the window from where we were standing and then I just yelled out to everyone to ring the fire brigade, get the key and get the animals out of there,” Adams said.

He said there were two three-month-old kittens, Evi and Stitch, and a slightly older cat about two or three years old named Storm, inside the sleepout at the time of the fire.

“By the time that happened, it was basically fully engulfed.”

He said it only took firefighters about five minutes to put out the fire after they arrived.

“They got here pretty quick,” he said.

“I’d like to thank them very much, it could have been worse.”

Exterior of the sleep-out on the Adams family property that burnt down. Photo / Warren Buckland

Adams said firefighters had been investigating the cause of the fire but had not determined one yet.

He said his daughter and her husband used to sleep in the sleepout before moving into the house when they had their baby, and the sleepout still contained many of their belongings at the time of the fire.

“People should be aware that it can happen at any stage and don’t take things for granted,” he said.

A Givealittle page has been set up by Payton Grant, a family member, to help the Adams family recover from the loss of clothes, baby clothes and furniture.

“The homeowners are my kids’ grandparents, I’m pretty close with everyone that lives in that house,” Grant said.

“I’m very close, especially with [Justin’s daughter] who lost basically everything and her son who is only 10 weeks older than my baby, so I wanted to try to help them in any way. That’s why I made the page,” Grant said.