Child saves baby from house fire

Fire crews were called to a property on Rowena Cres, Glen Innes, just before 11am.

A child managed to save a baby sibling, who was sleeping in an upstairs bedroom, from a house fire in Auckland today.

Fire crews were called to a property on Rowena Cres, Glen Innes, just before 11am.

Four children and their mother were at home when the blaze started on the top level of their two-storey home.

St Heliers fire station officer, Rodney Janes, said an upstairs smoke alarm alerted them to the blaze.

Mr Janes said a child raced back upstairs to retrieve a baby upstairs.

"I believe one of the children went up and got the baby out of the cot."

The age of the older sibling is not known, but Mr Janes believes the child was under 10 years old.

He said it was believed a child playing with a cigarette lighter upstairs had set a bed on fire.

The house is now uninhabitable.

"The whole thing's got to be stripped out and fixed up."