Beachfront house in Waikanae, Kāpiti destroyed by fire overnight

The fire threatened neighbouring properties. Photo / Sadie Beckman

A beachfront house has been totally destroyed by fire last night on the Kāpiti Coast, north of Wellington.

The fire engulfed the entire property and ignited fires on at least two neighbouring homes.

A Fire and Emergency central fire communications spokesman told Stuff two neighbouring houses had caught fire due to its intensity. Both had now been extinguished.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said none of the people who lived at the property or neighbouring properties had been hurt or caught up in the initial blaze.

"That's the best thing, really. We can replace material things."

A firefighter, however, was injured. Authorities said the injury was minor.

Waikanae Fire Brigade Chief Fire Officer Sarah Sundgren was at the site this morning, and said the fire investigator had also been there today.

At this stage the investigator has ruled the cause of the fire as "undetermined".

Sundgren said it was a challenging fire.

"This was one of the most challenging ones in that you potentially had three fires," she said, referring to neighbouring houses.

She said the wind direction also made matters worse because it blew the fire back through the house.

There were several fire appliances on site this morning dampening down a few hot spots.

One of the house's occupants (a tenant) had been on the scene this morning, along with the evacuated owners of the neighbouring properties.

The owner of the destroyed house, who lives out of the area, was expected today along with his insurers.