A Muriwai firefighter, who lost two colleagues to a landslip during Cyclone Gabrielle, says he only survived because he was fetching a shovel from his truck.
Phelan Pirrie recounted the tragic night on February 13 on Māori TV's Te Ao with Moana, telling the programme he never thought he'd witness such devastation.
It was a regular training night for the Muriwai Volunteer Fire Brigade that descended into tragedy.
"The hillside was incredible. It's like someone had a hydrant open and there was water just coming horizontally off a bank, and I'd never seen that. This is quite weird because it's a hill, hills don't flood," Pirrie said.
Pirrie fronted for Māori TV's Te Ao with Moana for the first time since the loss of colleagues Dave van Zwanenberg and Craig Stevens.
He recounted the night in haunting detail.
"People were trying to dig little trenches around the backs of their houses and things, so when we heard the trees cracking it was just like everyone needs to get out and evacuate that area," Pirrie said.
He was fetching a shovel from one of the volunteer brigade's trucks outside a property on Motutara Road and as he turned around, he saw a terrifying sight.
"The whole hill just exploded out towards me and the whole house just came off the hill. And I just turned and ran. There [were] trees and stuff coming down where I was and I ran behind the shop opposite and it was just the roar was incredible," Pirrie said.
He then heard the screams of a woman who was trapped in the roof cavity of a home that had been smashed down the hill.
"I ran in and climbed into this roof cavity and got this woman out and then I could hear Craig on the radio calling for help," Pirrie said.
Volunteer firefighters Stevens and van Zwanenberg were trapped.
Stevens was eventually rescued about three and a half hours later.
"Part of him was under about, I guess, a metre of mud and clay," Pirrie said.
Stevens died while in hospital.
The body of van Zwanenberg was discovered in the debris days after the slip.
They left behind a colleague who said something must change.
"I think this might be difficult for some people. Some of these places shouldn't have houses built back on them and the safest thing for people to do is for the Government to decide to buy them out and allow people to get on with their lives," Pirrie said.
He said the current uncertainty in Muriwai was awful as locals waited to hear what'll become of their seaside home.
