Crowd gathers for house fire

The cause of a fire that gutted an Otangarei home on Sunday is being investigated. Photo / Alexandra Newlove

A crowd of at least 50 gathered to watch firefighters deal to a house engulfed by a "blazing inferno" at Otangarei yesterday morning.

Whangarei Fire Service senior station officer Paul Ballantine said his crew was called to the Holmes Ave address just after 10am, with the upper level two-storeyed house fully ablaze when they arrived.

It appeared no one was in the privately-owned house at the time the fire started.

Vincent Behr

Two units from Whangarei and two volunteer appliances from Kamo contained the fire within 15 minutes.

The cause of the blaze was being investigated, Mr Ballantine said.

"The fire was considered a second alarm (requiring two units) because of the size. Initially we weren't sure whether the house was occupied, so we also called for ambulance just in case. As we were coming up the road you look at smoke and know it's a fully involved house fire, the smoke is that nasty black colour."

Neighbour Vincent Behr recalled how his quiet Sunday was interrupted.

"My girlfriend was out the front screaming, 'come and have a look'. I went out and it was like a block party, I've never seen such a big crowd," Mr Behr said of people who had gathered on the street.

Mr Behr said the house had become a "blazing inferno".

"You couldn't even see the roof for the flames."