Statement: Burnham fire

Early this morning there was a fire in Defence housing, outside Burnham Military Camp’s perimeter fencing.

Four houses and their occupants have been affected; one person has died. Our thoughts are with the whānau who have lost a family member, and all of those impacted by today’s fire.

New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) welfare homes have been opened up for the occupants, and support is being provided to all those affected – including via Defence Community Facilitators and Burnham’s padre.

While housing at Burnham Military Camp is owned by the NZDF, some is occupied by NZDF personnel and some is tenanted by non-NZDF personnel. We are unable to comment at this stage, on whether the housing affected by the fire was occupied by NZDF personnel.

Houses occupied by non-NZDF families are managed through commercial property managers.

The cause of the fire is yet to be confirmed.

Further updates on this event can be found at nzdf.mil.nz/burnhamfire