Fire chief Les Wasson said the brigade's initial concern was to make sure no one was inside. Volunteers donned breathing apparatus to search the house but police later located the owners in Hamilton. They had been due to return yesterday morning but were understood to be too distraught.
The house was "pretty much knackered", Mr Wasson said.
The family cat died in the fire.
Firefighters returned about midnight to make sure there was no chance of the blaze flaring up and threatening nearby buildings.
Fire investigator Gary Beer spent much of yesterday examining the charred remains. It was clear the fire had started in the lounge/dining room area, but it was too early to determine the cause.
The blaze capped a busy day for the Kerikeri brigade, starting at 1pm at Okokako Rd in Waimate North when a newly installed chimney started glowing red hot. Firefighters extinguished the fire, removed the chimney and urged the owners to get the installer back in.
At 4.20pm the brigade was called to the Turner Centre on Cobham Rd when a burnt steak triggered smoke detectors. A feast was being prepared for the Waitangi Tribunal after four days of evidence.
The firefighters were still at the centre when a Far North District Council animal control ute flipped onto its roof after the driver suffered a diabetic episode about 4.30pm. Police said weather may have contributed to the crash on Onekura Rd, Waipapa, but the main cause was medical. The driver veered onto the wrong side of the road, hit a ditch and flipped the ute on to its roof. Firefighters had to free him from the cab.
He was treated for minor injuries and hypoglycaemia (low blood sugar), then taken home. A St John spokesman said he was "very, very lucky" not to have suffered serious injuries.
The volunteers had only just returned to the station when they were called to the house fire, which was close to the Onekura Rd crash.