The main house, which Redmond grew up in, was not impacted by the fire.
Today, Redmond praised the firefighters for their quick response, which saved his vintage 1929 Taege car.
Fire crew members drove the prized possession out of a 150-year-old shed, which also narrowly escaped being destroyed by the blaze.
Two pigs also got away unscathed and were protected by the safety of their nearby stable.
Redmond said it wasn’t until later in the day that the reality of the damage set in.
“I woke up at 1am or 2am and came out here, it just felt like a ghost town,” he said.
The clean-up had started on Wednesday, with a large amount of damaged scrap metal needing to be taken away.
Resident Dean Jenkins said he and others were among the first on the scene when the blaze broke out.
Jenkins described hearing several large explosions while standing about 100m from the fire.
“You could feel it through your body,” he said.
“There were some pretty decent explosions in there. I think it was all the fridges, they have those gas canisters in them.
“It’s pretty impressive.”
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson yesterday said they were alerted to a fire in trees at a property near Darfield at 9.59am.
“Thirteen trucks from Darfield, Kirwee, Sheffield, Hororata, Dunsandel, Rolleston, Cust, Coalgate and Christchurch, and one helicopter, are responding.”
Three structures had been lost to fire, they confirmed.
“The public are advised to avoid the area while crews work,” the spokesperson said.
“Anyone impacted by smoke from the fire should stay inside with their windows and doors closed.”
A fire investigator arrived at the property yesterday afternoon.
The cause of the fire is yet to be determined.
