Riots have broken out in France after a black man was sexually assaulted by police - who claim it was an accident.

A home in Luggate was well ablaze by the time firefighters arrived at the property.

A bush fire near a Taupo native forest is well under control but it will take crews another few days to make sure it's completely out.

A man suffered serious burns after his campervan exploded in Taupo last night.

An abandoned house has burnt down overnight in Westport.

Two serious house fires have broken out in the North Island.

A large bushfire is blazing through forest and scrub northwest of Taupo.

Police have named the person who died in a shed fire in Christchurch on Thursday as 51-year-old Savita Devi Naidu.

The man who spent two hours trapped in a dam by an excavator has described how he survived in an emotional interview on the Today show.

A person is dead after a shed fire in Christchurch this morning.

It appears that the Samsung Galaxy Note 7 fiasco is not over yet. A "minor fire" broke out at the factory that manufactures the malicious

Heartbreak in church community after devastating Rotorua fire.

A man was up to his nose in water after his excavator rolled into a dam and trapped him there for two hours.

Pollution experts are being called in to deal with sticky residue left in water used to fight a major fire.

Firefighters are battling a blaze that has broken out at Airborne Honey in Christchurch.

A fire that destroyed a house and car in West Auckland overnight is believed to be suspicious.

A community fundraiser for an 11-year-old girl orphaned by a fatal east Auckland house fire drew hundreds, organisers say.

Three people are treated for smoke inhalation after fire engulfs a home.

A fire burning on the tracks of the Christchurch to Greymouth rail line has brought the TranzAlpine and some freight services to a

A fire has destroyed a shed in Ngaruawahia over night.

A helicopter was needed to help battle a scrub fire in the Bay of Islands this afternoon. A Fire Service spokeswoman said the blaze

A person has been treated for smoke inhalation following a garage fire in Pukekohe this afternoon.

Children in Levin have been risking their lives to raid a home ravaged by fire, giving the home owner more anxiety.

A Northland man has pleaded not guilty to 10 charges of arson and elected to have a jury trial. Andrew Lee Searle, 20, of Te Kopuru

The third serious house fire in Canterbury this week has badly damaged a home. Police suspect arson.

Firefighters were forced to break into a Bishopdale flat prevent a fire while the couple inside slept.

Fire has raced through native scrubland in the bed of a dried-out lake in the Far North.

Fire crews have now contained a large scrub fire south of Whangarei.

A Kaiapoi home has been extensively damaged by fire in a large blaze overnight.

While the eastern region swelters in one of the most rain-deprived Januaries in more than a century, some western areas have been drenched.