An off-brand cellphone charger is the focus of an investigation into a fire that destroyed a Maketū home and left a man with burns.
About 2.15am todayfour fire crews and an ambulance were called to a large brick farmhouse on Maketū Rd, near the intersection with Kaituna Rd.
Maketu Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Shane Gourlay said the four-bedroom steel-framed house was already well ablaze when the first firefighters arrived.
The 300sq m house and attached garage were "totally destroyed".