A swift response from neighbours has been praised following a house fire in Sunnybrook.
The fire broke out in the kitchen of a house on the corner of Sunset Rd and Haynes Cres shortly after 3pm yesterday.
Three fire trucks and an ambulance arrived minutes after a neighbour alerted emergency services.
The two occupants of the house, an elderly woman and her son, escaped the blaze unscathed but half their home was gutted by the fire.
Rotorua fire service Senior Station Officer Richard Anastasi said it appeared the son had been cooking but had left it unattended to go into the garage. A fire quickly began and had engulfed the kitchen and lounge before the son helped his mother, who was in the bedroom, out of a window.