A large fire has broken out at a beachfront property on Cooks Beach in the Coromandel.
Flames and smoke can be seen from as far away as Whitianga, local radio station CFM reports.
Photos and videos on the station’s Facebook page show the house appears to have been almost completely destroyed by the fire.
Commenters say the fire appears to be contained but there has been some damage to adjoining property.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) told the Herald the agency is in attendance at a multiple house fire at Cooks Beach and a two-story home was ablaze. A second home had also caught fire.
They said the first house fire is under control and crews are dampening hot spots at the second home.
A third home was near the blaze but they said no damage was done.
Five fire appliances are at the scene and a group manager is on site.
Whitianga local Brent Littlejohn told the Herald: “I was at sea and noticed the heavy black smoke coming from Cooks Beach. Thick black smoke is a bad sign so I headed over and that’s what I came across.”
Littlejohn said there were a lot of people around watching and helping where they could.
“The guttering on the house to the right of the picture started smoldering at one point but thankfully the fire service got onto that pretty quickly.”
LittleJohn said when he left at approximately 2pm, the fire crews had started to make a dent in extinguishing the fire.
“The Whitianga brigade arrived and set up a pump down on the beach to use seawater to extinguish it, they had it under control after the pump started.”
A Cooks Beach local who did not wish to be named said the street is full of fire engines, police cars, and lots of spectators.
“There is some damage to the houses on both sides, but the house that burned is completely devastated,” she said.
“The blaze is not out but it is still smouldering. There is still a lot of smoke in the air, I don’t know how the firefighters do it on such a hot day.”
She said a lot of the locals had turned up with food and water bottles for the firefighters and police at the scene.
Earlier, TVNZ reported that Fenz were called to the scene about 12.33pm this afternoon.
A witness told 1News that the initial fire started in the garage where a hybrid car was parked.
They also said that the two-storey house was engulfed in flames within 30 minutes of them smelling smoke.
Currently there are no reports of any injuries.
The house is understood to be a large, new double-storey structure on Endeavour Place, which is on the beachfront.
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