An abandoned Atupa house on the backroad of Nikao went up in smoke and flames yesterday afternoon with authorities and neighbors puzzled as to what caused the outbreak.

The fire gutted the whole house burning everything inside, as well as trees and a small bush around it.

Joe Caffery, a neighbour who called the fire service, said the house is mainly used by neighboring businesses to store their rubbish but it has been abandoned for years.

“I saw that it was burning so I called the fire guys but what concerns me always is that these businesses around here always use this place to store their rubbish and just throw their rubbish here,” he told Cook Islands News.

He is not certain what caused the fire but he said that the businesses sometimes burn their rubbish there around the abandoned house.

Meanwhile, he also expressed his concern and disappointment at the fire service call centre for asking too many questions during the call for help, which wasted so much time that could’ve saved some trees around the house from burning.

The fire distracted tourists at the Kia Orana villas close by, who watched on with concern.

Three fire trucks attended the incident, the last two trucks supplying water as the first truck’s water load was not sufficient to put out the fire.

No one appeared to have been injured at the scene. Talaia Mika