A house in Omapere Rd, Kaikohe, suffered significant damage by fire on Saturday - but it could have been much worse according to Kaikohe's chief fire officer Bill Hutchinson.
"The crew got there pretty quickly," he said, "and with no time to spare".
By that stage the flames had made their way into the ceiling space, but they didn't get any further.
"Luckily a door between the fire and the interior was closed, so that slowed it down," he added.
Hutchinson suspected that the blaze was the result of an electrical fault. Neighbours had reported hearing and/or seeing the meter box, within a porch area, explode and catch fire.
