The house, which used to be a rental, had been vacant for about four weeks, he said.
The resident said they heard "banging" and "exploding" and they quickly moved the cars from the driveway.
"It's amazing how quickly it went up [in flames]", he said, with it taking between 15 and 20 minutes for the house to become well-alight.
He said it was lucky there had been a bit of rain this week and that it wasn't in the middle of summer as the surrounding trees may have caught alight.
A man who lived on Gordon Rd behind the property said his wife was "freaking out" when she looked out the window about 4pm to see smoke billowing out of the house.
The Orkney Rd property was taped off after being gutted by fire. Photo / Cira Olivier
Flames were "leaping off the roof" and the couple were wondering what would happen, but were comforted by the large space of land between the houses.
He rushed home and his neighbour told them to close their windows as the wind was blowing it towards their property.
He said a person had been at the property on and off for a few years mowing the lawn but he hadn't seen him in a while.
