Several fire crews battle suspicious Moteo house fire

Fire crews from Hastings, Napier and Taradale were called to extinguish a well-involved house fire in Puketapu on Wednesday morning. Photo / Paul Taylor

Firefighter crews from Hastings, Napier and Taradale took about an hour to extinguish a well-involved house fire in a rural area west of Napier on Wednesday morning.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said firefighters were called about 10.10am to the fire at a property in Moteo Pa Rd, about 10 minutes from Taradale.

The spokesman said three crews from Hastings, two crews from Napier and one crew from Taradale attended.

Firefighters were still working to fully extinguish the fire as of 10.55am. Photo / Paul Taylor

He said nobody was injured in the fire.

The spokesman said the fire is being treated as suspicious and a specialist fire investigator has been called to the scene

It was the fourth of five calls answered by firefighters in the Napier-Hastings in less than 90 minutes.

The first was at 9.12am to a car fire in Wakefield St in Napier's Onekawa industrial district, but the fire was extinguished by the time a crew arrived.

Two calls were to single-vehicle crashes in Hastings, the first at 9.30am after a vehicle overturned in Richmond Rd and the second reported at 10.12am in Heretaunga St West. The last of the calls was at 10.30am to Cortes Cres, Flaxmere, where a FENZ spokesman said a street electricity "box" had ignited, also setting fire to a fence.