A fire at a house in Hamilton was started by a group of "drunk hooligans", according to the Fire Service.

A fire investigator will be looking into the cause of a house fire in Dargaville, in Northland, today.

Police would like to speak to two young men who stopped to assist as they were driving past the house and saw flames.

A large bin burst into flames on a busy street in Auckland CBD this afternoon.

Fire races through a New Lynn boarding house.

Fire crews won't be leaving the scene of a devastating bushfire on the Coromandel until next month.

The fourth victim of the horrific house fire in Flat Bush will be laid to rest today.

Firefighters are responding to a scrub fire in South Auckland this evening.

Hawke's Bay has had its driest January since 1950, according to MetService records for that month. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Authorities continue their investigations to find out the exact cause of a huge fire that destroyed several homes on the Coromandel Peninsula this week.

A Northland man has been charged with lighting 10 fires in the Kaipara area that have destroyed areas of conservation land and a forest

Climate change scientists have projected continued global greenhouse gas emissions would heat Northland heat up more than other regions

Fire investigators are unable to work out what started a house fire that has now claimed four lives.

The cause of the fire is not yet known.

A firefighter appeared drunk and others could not demonstrate basic critical skills during an audit, an official report says.

Neighbours of Whitianga residents who lost their homes in this week's bush fires have been rallying around - donating food, clothing and time to support the recovery effort. Made with funding from NZ On Air.

Jani Dennis and Paul Lee came perilously close to losing everything in this week's devastating bush fire which ravaged 70 hectares of land at the tip of the peninsula.

The forecasted weather bomb has seen a change in wind direction at the scene of the massive bush fire south of Whitianga.

At least six properties were destroyed - but there was no loss of life during the Whitianga bushfire. And locals say they know it could have been much worse. Made with funding from NZ On Air

At least six properties were destroyed - but there was no loss of life during the Whitianga bushfire. And locals say they know it could have been much worse. Made with funding from NZ On Air

A Dunedin man who burned down his family home four days after his marriage fell apart has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.

They described it as explosive, extreme and rampant; and tonight the wildfire that cost residents of an idyllic Whitianga peninsula their homes is burning on.

Coromandel MP Scott Simpson on the damage caused by a devastating fire, which destroyed at least six homes. The Wilderland Sustainable Community was hit hard - with buildings, equipment and crops destroyed. Made with funding from NZ On Air

Valiant effort by neighbours not enough to save homes of shocked Whitianga locals.

Council spokeswoman Rebekah Duffin said the destruction of the Wilderland farm would be a huge blow to the area.

A Toyota Altezza was set alight in a carpark near Invercargill.

A fire which burned through 100ha of hillside near Arthur's Pass last week and four more fires on Saturday are suspected to be the work of an arsonist.

A person is injured and homes threatened during an overnight house fire.

A vegetation fire is burning out of control on a sandspit at the bottom of the South Island.

A large vegetation fire that came within five metres of a new Blenheim subdivision and forced the evacuation of 60 homes was deliberately lit, authorities have confirmed.