Vineyard house ablaze

A fire in a sleepout on a Flaxmere vineyard caused heat and smike damage to the rest of the building but no serious injury. Photo/Paul Taylor

The occupants of a four-bedroom house on a Flaxmere vineyard are lucky to be alive after a woman woke to flames in her bedroom, says Hastings Fire Service senior station officer Mike Peachey.

He said all occupants, thought to number six, escaped serious injury from the 2.33am fire yesterday but some were treated for smoke inhalation at the scene by the St John Ambulance Service.

"Smoke alarms would have made it a safer option - they didn't have smoke alarms in that room so she was lucky to get out," he said.

The fire was likely caused by an electric heater being too close to flammable material such as clothing and bedding, he said.

The house sits on a vineyard on the corner of Portsmouth Rd and Chatham St and is accessed from the entrance of a blueberry farm.

Several fire trucks and a water tanker responded and it took an hour to extinguish the flames but firefighters stayed another three to ensure it was out. The fire was largely contained to the room but the rest of the house was damaged by heat and smoke.

"If they had smoke alarms they would have discovered the fire earlier and maybe it would not have been so significant. Smoke alarms are worth their weight in gold."

At 10.34am on Saturday Havelock North and Hastings fire services responded to a small roof fire in a Havelock North building on Napier Rd.

A thermal-imaging camera was used to ensure no embers remained.