Firefighters arrive in the nick of time

Firefighters arrived just in time to stop a Waikato house from being gutted, fire safety officer Kevin Holme says.

The blaze in the two-bedroom farm cottage just out of Pirongia, west of Te Awamutu, was started by an electrical fault.

Flames travelled up a wall and into the ceiling, smouldering for at least two hours before dropping onto a couch in the lounge, Mr Holme said.

The house was "moments" away from fully igniting when firefighters doused the flames.

The fire in the ceiling had been restricted by a lack of oxygen and fuel, he said.

The occupant of the McClure St house had been working an overnight shift when she arrived home about 8am to find blackened windows and smoke seeping out from beneath the rafters.

Mr Holme said the fire was extinguished within about 10 minutes.

- NZPA