Dunedin house goes up in flames

Flames lick at the roof of the house on Tweed St in Dunedin. Photo/Otago Daily Times/Gregor Richardson

Firefighters from every station in Dunedin rushed to battle a fierce house fire in the suburb of Rosyln tonight, after initial reports that there were still people in the house.

The occupants of the stately wooden home escaped unharmed but it took crews more than two hours to put the fire out.

The first crew was called at 9.50pm to the blaze on Tweed St, near Fifield St, Southern Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman Andrew Norris said.

"We got initial reports that there may be someone in the house. As soon as the crews left the station they could see smoke in the distance so they immediately called for help."

Five fire trucks and 20 firefighters were sent to the blaze, with crews from Roslyn, Dunedin City, Willowbank, St Kilda and Lookout Point.

The two-storey property was "well involved" when they arrived, Norris said.

"They've confirmed that nobody was in there - everyone was accounted for and there were no injuries."

Four crews were still damping down the fire at midnight. At this stage the fire is not being treated as suspicious, Norris said.