Firefighters had to battle flames at one Wairoa home while their emergency service colleagues fought flooding on the other side of town.
Fire investigators from Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) determined the cause of the house fire about 11.40am Wednesday last week to be an accidental electrical fire.
A total of 116 homes, including the homes of five Wairoa firefighters, were inundated that morning when the Wairoa River flooded during the storm that hit the East Coast.
Pictures show much of the front half of the Achilles St property, which neighbours State Highway 2, was blackened by smoke and fire, with scorch marks visible at parts of the front exterior cladding.
Nuhaka chief fire officer Denal Meihana said the fire was centred in the kitchen and lounge of the property, while the rest of the home had smoke damage.