"I'd been screaming my head off for five minutes but of course, if you're unconscious on the floor you're not going to hear anybody."
He said the owner and his partner were "beside themselves".
"He's a good guy and it's a shame it's happened to him and his partner."
Masterton station officer Kevin Smith said the owners arrived home after being alerted by neighbours while firefighters were still extinguishing the blaze.
"[The owners] were extremely distraught, they just couldn't believe what they were seeing. One of the main things they were worried about were some puppies they had in a kennel, outside the house, but the puppies were okay."
Mr Smith said the property was well ablaze when firefighters arrived.
"There was flame and smoke from multiple areas of the house. The main area of the fire was the lounge and dining room area. The lounge, dining room and kitchen were extensively damaged. The hallway and bedrooms were severely smoke and heat damaged."
Mr Smith said the house would not be habitable for quite some time.
He said there were some thoughts on the cause of the fire and the fire service was investigating three avenues.
The existing fireplace or an electrical fault were two possibilities.
"It's quite difficult to determine a definitive cause when there has been so much damage," he said.
The fire is not believed to be suspicious.
Hutt Valley fire inspector Peter Thompson has been called in to conduct a thorough investigation.
He said he was yet to determine the cause of the fire and would be working with insurance investigators today.
"It just reinforces having working smoke alarms in your house, so if you are inside asleep you get that early warning," he said.
