A home near Doubtless Bay has been destroyed by a fire thought to have started in the chimney.
The sole occupant escaped unhurt when the Kohumaru Rd blaze started about 3.15pm on Monday, the same time the Mangonui Fire Brigade was responding to an accident in which an 8-year-old girl was hit by a car.
The makeshift corrugated iron home, with a lean-to attached, was not connected to the grid.
Fire crews from Mangonui, Kaeo and Kaitaia responded but were unable to save the dwelling.