For months, Liam Henderson has spent most weekends and evenings turning an old horse truck into a mobile tiny home, and was looking forward to setting out on roadies to surf spots.
But his dreams have now gone up in flames, leaving him with no home, no possessions and thousands of dollars in debt. .
Yet despite his heartache, the 20-year-old is remaining positive and says he is grateful for the help he has received, including from total strangers.
“People have been so kind,” Henderson said. “People who don’t even know me have given me clothing and food. This is one of the saddest things to happen in my life but this outpouring of love from people is one of the coolest.”
Everything he owned, including clothing, tools and his friend’s welder, were engulfed in a blaze so hot it left only a twisted wreck of mangled metal, and gutted the container shelter in which the truck was parked.
Henderson was left with just the clothes he was wearing, his surfboard and his car.
The truck was not insured as it had been off the road while Henderson was rebuilding it, and he still has to repay a $26,000 loan taken out to pay for materials.
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Henderson has worked on the truck for about eight months, starting not long after he moved to New Plymouth from Palmerston North, after falling in love with the surf on a weekend visit.
“I came to Fitzroy Beach, saw a couple of sunsets, fell in love with the place.”
He was back to live a week later, and had found work as an apprentice arborist, and at Bunnings.
Soon after, he bought the eight metre-long horse truck. It had some rust but a good motor.
He cleaned out the straw and manure from the back, moved in and started stripping it and renovating.
A friend taught him how to weld and let him park the truck in his shed at Bell Block.
Liam Henderson was about to put his truck in for its Certificate of Fitness when tragedy struck.
He added large windows, a purpose-built wood fire for heating, solar electricity, a kitchen area with a full-sized fridge and a shower.
The ramp on the back for loading horses became a deck, covered with artificial turf, so he had an instant lawn, with a set of French doors to look out on it.
“It was a real juggling act. I’d move my clothes and the kitchen stuff to do some work, then move it back.”
On July 21, he was on to the last couple of jobs before the 1984 truck was ready to be inspected for its Certificate of Fitness.
Henderson was welding patches where he had removed the last spots of rust on the cab, and heat from the welder ignited the cab lining and the polystyrene insulation.
“I was so focused on what I was doing, I didn’t see it until I smelt smoke and saw it pouring out both sides of the cab,” he said.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Liam Henderson’s house truck was left as a mangled steel shell after a fire that started when he was welding.
Henderson doused the flames with a container of water, grabbed his LPG cylinder out of the back, and turned on the nearby hose.
But within a couple of minutes, he realised there was nothing he could do.
Henderson was taken by ambulance to be treated in hospital for smoke inhalation. He also has several painful burns on his arms where melted polystyrene dripped on him, and is thankful for the sturdy work clothing he was wearing.
“It was quite strange standing there watching it go up. I’m like a fire safety advisor now, ‘Get some alarms, get a fire extinguisher’. There was no time to even grab my wallet, it was freaky.”
He has been staying with friends in New Plymouth while he comes to terms with the loss, and figures out his next move.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
Henderson had been looking forward to getting the truck on the road for trips to surf spots.
Having lost everything he owned, he is wearing one of his dad’s old jerseys and other clothes that have been given to him.
The support of friends and family, and his faith in God, have got him through as he comes to terms with starting over, he said, and his sister has set up a Givealittle page, All possessions lost in house truck fire, to help him.
VANESSA LAURIE/Stuff
The fire destroyed the canopy of the container shelter where the truck was parked.
Henderson said he would probably look for a new truck and start again, but not yet.
He is still trying to come to terms with losing everything – a favourite jacket, his doc Marten boots and birthday presents – but is trying to be philosophical.
“My mate said to me, ‘You have your car, your surfboard and your life, what more do you need?’ At the end of the day, it’s just stuff. Nobody got hurt.”
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