The neighbours of a burning home grabbed their passports and rushed outside when they heard the popping of windows.
The large house fire forced the closure of several roads in central Auckland this morning.
Plumes of thick smoke could be seen across the suburb of Mt Albert as fire crews battled the blaze.
Westbound lanes in St Lukes Rd were closed during rush-hour traffic, but have since reopened.
Taylor Rd and Alberton Ave were also closed.
Neighbours of the property said they believed it was empty when it went up in flames shortly after 7am.
“I could hear all the boards popping off [the windows] and I wasn’t sure if someone was ripping the boards off.”
When the neighbour looked out the window, she realised the building was on fire.
“We just got our passports and got out.”
The neighbour said Fire and Emergency was able to get the blazeunder control “very quicky”.
“The guys have done an amazing job.”
Neighbourhood Support worker and Toastmaster Kevin Prohl said the house had been boarded up for about 10 or 11 days.
Prohl said a family had previously been living there and believed they still had possessions inside the house.
Images of the blaze show plumes of thick smoke billowing across Mt Albert.
A reporter on the scene said parents were queued in cars trying to get children to school, but were stuck in traffic on blocked roads.
Traffic was snarled in the areas surrounding the fire, with cars sitting bumper to bumper down Alberton Ave and St Lukes Rd.
The roof of a boarded-up house had been incinerated and the fire had been extinguished.
A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said they were called to the house in St Lukes Rd at 7.10am.
The fire was upgraded to a second alarm as six fire crews tried to extinguish it.
The spokesperson said there had been no reports of injuries and a fire investigator was on the scene.
Auckland Transport was warning buses 22N, 22R, 650 and the OuterLink will detour to Sainsbury Rd.
More to come
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