The fire on Bangor St in Flaxmere.
Firefighters have battled a blaze which damaged a car and garage in Flaxmere.
The incident happened at an address on Bangor St in the Hastings suburb about 10.30am on Wednesday.
Fortunately, no one was injured.
A resident who lives at the address, who did not want to be named, said her family were home at the time of the fire, which badly damaged the garage.
“Mum was just about to make breakfast for my dad, then she saw the smoke coming out in the air and then went outside and ... the garage was already burnt,” she said.
“I came home and fire trucks were already here out front, and my family were all outside.”
A Fire and Emergency NZ spokeswoman said a car fire had spread to a small sleepout garage during the blaze.
The fire had been contained by 11.30am and firefighters were on the scene dampening down hotspots. Three fire trucks attended.
There have been four artists-in-residence at Rinitawa.