Napier house damaged in fire

Firefighters spent nearly three hours at a house fire in Napier last night. Photo/File

A Napier house has been damaged after an unexplained fire last night.

Fire crews were called to a blaze at an address in James Foley Ave, Pirimai, just after 9.30pm.

Napier senior station officer Jamie Nichol said two appliances from Napier and one from Hastings spent nearly three hours at the scene.

The blaze, which was contained to the hallway, only caused fire damage to about 10 per cent of the house but the entire building had been affected by the smoke, he said.

"There was not a terrible amount of fire damage."

When fire crews got there it was not fully involved and it was able to be dealt with by a couple of hose reels from the appliances.

The address was unoccupied and because the fire was confined there was no danger to neighbouring properties, Nichol said.

The cause of the blaze was unknown at this stage but was not thought to be suspicious.

Fire safety investigators from Palmerston North were due at the address this morning.

Fire crews were made aware of the incident following a call from a passing motorist.

Yesterday afternoon Havelock North and Hastings fire crews were kept busy with a car workshop fire at McClintock Motors on Te Mata Rd.

About 50 per cent of the workshop was damaged from a car which was believed to have ignited while the petrol tank was being drained at about 4.10pm.

Three people were in the workshop at the time and were treated at the scene by St John for smoke inhalation.

When firefighters arrived the occupants were out of the building and were trying to stifle the flames with a garden hose from a neighbouring house.

Last month a man was saved by neighbours who pried open a garage door as his home was engulfed in flames in Hastings.

The middle unit in a block of four on Ferguson St, Akina, was severely damaged after the fire started in the kitchen on March 17.