Kaitaia's Senior Station Officer, Ross Beddows, said the house was some 500 metres off Maitai Bay Road, the appliances negotiating a narrow gate with some difficulty then following a drive through pines and scrub to reach the house.
Had the wind not been blowing from the east, he said, the flames might well have reached the trees, in which case the blaze could have been very much "a major".
As it was, he credited the Karikari Rural Fire Force with saving the second house, although Mr Manuel did not believe it had been at risk.
The Rangiputa crew's role as to ferry water from a nearby creek, while water was also taken from Mr Manuel's household tank (and by Tuesday afternoon had been replaced). The plastic tank immediately adjacent to the burning house melted and was of no use.
Mr Beddows said the crews faced a hopeless task from the start, their only hope being to prevent the flames from spreading.
"The house was never going to be saved," he said.
"The roof had collapsed by the time we got there, but the only real danger was a number of gas bottles. They vented, as they are supposed to do, and no harm was done though."
Meanwhile Mr Manuel said he wished to acknowledge the job Mr Kitchen had done.
"He was in his element," he said.
"He really knows what he's doing, directing the firefighters and making sure everything that had to be done was done. He was fantastic."
