Family home burned to the ground in blaze

A woman cried "everything's gone" before collapsing as her family's home went up in flames yesterday.

Witnesses who spoke to the woman said she had just popped out to the shops and returned to to find her house on Upper Harbour Drive, Greenhithe, engulfed by fire.

A Fire Service spokeswoman said the inferno was so big that "half of Auckland" had contacted emergency services. Three fire appliances were sent but nothing could be done to save the house.

Firefighters at the scene of the Greenhithe fire. Photo / Herald on Sunday / Doug Sherring

Former police detective Stephen Bell was one of the first on the scene.

"It was very ferocious," he said. "It must have been smouldering for a while but once it got hold the house just took off."

He went to see if the home owner was all right but she collapsed on the ground in tears, apparently fainting.

"She said she has lost everything, everything's gone," Bell said. "She was beside herself."

Image 1 of 9: Fire services at the scene of a house fire in Greenhithe, North Shore. Photo / Ashlee Rimmer

Fire investigator Gary Beer said initial indicators suggested the fire originated in a storage area underneath the house.

The fire was so ferocious, 'half of Auckland' called emergency services. Photo / Peter Sweetman

It was too early to say what caused the blaze and due to the amount of destruction it may never be established. However, it was not being treated as suspicious.

A family of four, understood to be from Sri Lanka, lived at the property and had been planning to have friends over to watch yesterday's Cricket World Cup clash between Sri Lanka and New Zealand.

"Nothing's salvageable - they've lost everything that they owned," Beer said.

"It's a real tragedy but the good side of it is nobody has been injured or killed in the fire."

Beer added that the family were insured.