Fire crews discovered the body of a man after they were called to a house blaze in Marton overnight.

The strongest El Nino in nearly two decades has created tinder-dry fire conditions around the country, prompting a plea to heed restrictions now blanketing most regions.

A fire at Cambridge Middle School has been extinguished but firefighters are treating the blaze as suspicious.

More than 20 firefighters from across Waikato were today called to a large blaze which produced a plume visible over Hamilton.

A dozen firefighters were called to help fight a house fire in central Auckland this morning.

A contingent of Kiwi firefighters are joining their counterparts across the Tasman to combat wildfires blazing in Victoria.

New Year partygoers escaped an inferno in a 63-storey Dubai hotel yesterday.

A large bush fire forced the evacuation of homes in the far north in the early hours of this morning.

A derelict house in an East Coast township was destroyed by fire last night.

Firefighters battling a large sand dune fire at a Christchurch beach this afternoon now appear to have it under control.

The whare kai, or cooking house, at Waikare Marae went up in flames around 6pm.

A man who lost his house in the Christchurch earthquakes has been struck by tragedy again after losing his house to the Australian bushfires.

A lakefront Queenstown home was damaged by fire yesterday, after its occupant took a phone call while cooking.

A man has been arrested after he "lost it" and set his house on fire on Christmas Eve in rural Waikato.

Fire danger remains high in many parts of the South Island because of high temperatures, low humidity and strong winds.

A house in South Auckland has been extensively damaged after an early morning blaze on Christmas Eve.

A state house on the North Shore is due for demolition today after it was gutted in a fire on Monday afternoon.

Firefighters are still at the scene of a scrub fire north of Auckland that destroyed more than 10 hectares of vegetation.

A Westport house was destroyed in an early morning blaze on Saturday after the Christmas tree lights caught fire, engulfing the ceiling.

Firefighters are at the scene of a massive blaze in an abandoned two-storey house in central Christchurch.

An out-of-control fire was last night raging towards residents in Victoria's northeast who have been warned it's too late to leave their homes.

One person is being treated for smoke inhalation at the scene of a house while a vegetation fire in Kumeu is being treated as suspicious.

Firefighters responded to an alarm activated at Mt Eden school earlier this evening.

Smoke billowing over city as bush fire rages on city's North Shore.

A major blaze which came within metres of destroying a home, forced the evacuation of at least a dozen Northland properties, and closed a state highway for several hours.

A scrub fire has closed a state highway in Northland.

Firefighters battling a huge forest fire in Marlborough have managed to "get this beast by the tail" and contain the blaze today.

Around 1200ha of pine forest and grassland have been destroyed in a forest fire that continues to burn out of control in Marlborough.

The cause of last night's inferno at an office tower remains unknown - and more than 100 fire fighters and 23 appliances were required to fight the blaze.