A ROTORUA couple who escaped with just a few items of clothing after fire tore through their home of 30 years have been overwhelmed by the offers of help they've received.
The Rotorua Fire Brigade was called to the Sala St property at 3.30am yesterday and two fire trucks spent several hours extinguishing the blaze.
Homeowner Gary Sanders said he and his wife were woken by the sound of glass breaking. The house did not have smoke detectors.
"We were woken by a broken window, the heat must have been right through the house. It's one of those things you don't actually know what to do at the time - shall I try and put the fire out? Grab a potful of water?" Mr Sanders said.
"We both sort of shouted to each other 'let's go outside' and in the end that's what we did.