A three-way car crash is causing commuter chaos in Wellington tonight as drivers face a long trip home.

Cardiac arrest patients cared for by New Zealand's largest ambulance provider have a markedly lower chance of surviving than those under the service covering Wellington and the Wairarapa.

Tributes have poured in for a worker who was killed in a bitumen explosion in rural Waikato yesterday.

A man is dead after a fuel tanker explosion at an earth-moving company this afternoon.

A recovery team works at Fox Glacier after the helicopter crash, which killed pilot Mitch Gameren and six others. Footage/Supplied

Attempts to recover the remaining three bodies were cut short today after stormy weather closed in.

Four stranded members of the recovery team working at the Fox Glacier helicopter crash site were in for a long night after stormy weather closed in.

The police Eagle helicopter was sent to Little Shoal Bay after police received a call from ambulance around 5.30pm that the girls were in trouble.

Five of the 24 houses in the Waikakaho Valley have been evacuated by Police.

Rescue crews are again on standby today as bad weather continues to hamper the Fox Glacier helicopter crash recovery operation.

A woman has suffered "crush injuries" after being trapped under a car in Leigh this morning.

The blaze in Cameron Rd, Greerton, Tauranga, was now under investigation.

The woman potentially saved the lives of two flatmates by her actions after a mattress was set on fire by a hair dryer.

All firefighters including volunteers, career staff and brigades in urban and rural areas will be pulled together into a single national service.

Emergency services are currently at the scene of the crash on Welcome Bay Road, Waitao.

At least one fire has been started by fireworks as New Zealanders celebrate Guy Fawkes today.

A middle-aged man found in flames behind a Birkenhead restaurant was taken to Auckland Hospital in a serious condition last night.

Emergency services were last night called to a North Shore restaurant where a person is believed to have suffered serious burns.

A family had to flee a burning house in Hamilton this evening.

Police are currently at a house in Otara, guarding the scene, where a young man was seriously injured.

Battling severe winds, they managed to contact Kapiti Coastguard before separating from their boat.

A cyclist caught a glimpse of spectacular fire show in rural Auckland, early this morning, when a van overheated and burst into flames before his eyes.

The Auckland Rescue Helicopter was called to Whatipu, in the Waitakere Range on the west coast of Auckland, just before 7pm yesterday.

Canterbury dad says he's still lost for words after the shocking news his son Michael had been hospitalised in a critical condition.

A man is in hospital in a serious condition after a gas bottle explosion. St John ambulance South Island spokesman Ian Henderson said ambulance crews were called to the site at Maddisons Rd in Rolleston at 2.43pm.

Police today said Daniel Aretz, 37, died in the collision between his BMW G650 motorbike and a motorcyclist in a group travelling in the opposite direction.

Michael James Burnby, 44, died in Christchurch Hospital from injuries he suffered in Saturday's smash, police said this afternoon.

Canterbury Police and Canterbury District Health Board are concerned at the emergence of 25B-NBOMe, described as a powerful synthetic hallucinogen.

The Auckland Westpac Rescue Helicopter has been called to transport the victims to hospital.

A fire communications spokesman said all emergency services were in attendance but no one was trapped in any of the vehicles.