Fears someone was still inside a burning home north of Christchurch last night were unfounded.
Fire crews spent nearly half the night at the Oxford Rd, Rangiora, blaze, which broke out just after 6pm.
The home was well alight when crews arrived. The searched the home but no one was inside.
Two fire crews and a tanker helped fight the blaze and additional tankers were brought in because of a lack of water.
Crews stayed at the property dampening down hot spots until nearly 11pm.
