A house in Auckland's Titirangi is on fire, with 20 firefighters and five trucks battling the blaze.
Crews were called to the fire on Tinopai Rd about 6.50pm.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Carren Larking said it was "well-involved" on arrival but had since been condensed to one portion of the house.
There were no reports of injuries.
Police were also on the scene managing the closure of Tinopai Rd.
Peter Millman, who lives near the property, said he heard a number of explosions and saw flames around 20m high and "massive" plumes of smoke.
He and his housemates collected their important belongings - including passports and computers - and evacuated, fearing the blaze could spread to their house.
"[I] first saw it when one of my flatmates started crying out that there was a fire," he said.
He said it was the biggest fire had seen in his life.
"The scale of it ... when the explosions started, it looked like it was just going spread and spread."
He said the fire appeared to be under control now and praised the quick response from the firefighters at the scene.
The 19-year-old disappeared without her wallet or mobile phone.