A person has died after a fire broke out at a rural section in Kaiwaka earlier today.
The Kaiwaka Volunteer Fire Brigade was first called to the blaze on a property near State Highway 1 around 12.48pm.
Deputy chief fire officer Adrian Buxton said when they arrived a car and tractor were on fire.
The situation escalated into what Buxton called an “exposure fire” when the flames spread to the house next to where the two vehicles were burning.
The fire’s intensity prompted him to increase the callout to a second alarm which brought in brigades from Mangawhai, Wellsford, and Maungatūroto to rush to the scene.