Firefighters battled two large house fires in Gisborne and Upper Hutt in the early hours of this morning. Photo / Bevan Conley
Firefighters have been kept busy battling two large house fires in the North Island in the early hours of this morning.
Fire crews were called to a blaze shortly before 1am in Gisborne.
Just over an hour later, a fire broke out at a house in Upper Hutt, in the Wellington region.
Both properties were "well alight" when firefighters arrived, central northern fire communications said. However, both fires are now out.
A scene guard is in place at the Gisborne property, however, and a standby fire crew remains at the house in Upper Hutt checking for hotspots.
Central northern fire communications shift manager Belinda Beets said fire investigators will be going to both properties this morning to figure out what caused each blaze.
No one was inside the Gisborne property when the fire broke out, she said.
It is not yet known whether anyone was inside the Upper Hutt house at the time of the fire, however.
He was allowed to live there if he paid bills and did maintenance - but he didn't.