Thousands of Australians fled their homes yesterday as wildfires raged across the nation's south.

An 18-month-old boy who suffered severe burns in an Auckland house fire is now in a stable condition, more than a month after he was rushed to Middlemore Hospital.

Dozens of firefighters battled a fierce bush fire in West Auckland last night that threatened homes and blocked access to residents.

Firefighters remained at the scene of fierce bush fire in West Auckland overnight to ensure there were no further outbreaks.

21 fire engines, 70 firefighters and three helicopters have contained a fierce bush fire in West Auckland but will stay in place overnight.

Firefighters attended a dramatic fire in a van in West Auckland this evening.

A fire which destroyed a house and damaged another was started by a Dunedin man trying to inhale cannabis over an lpg heater, the Dunedin District Court has been told.

A 29-year-old man was taken to hospital with serious burns after a domestic incident this morning.

Fire gutted a home and wrecked two cars in the Auckland street John Key once described as a dead-end place.

A house fire at a property in Otaki was deliberately lit while the occupants were away on holiday, police say.

A Wellington man has been found guilty of setting fire to a storage facility, destroying millions of dollars worth of property.

Fire destroyed a couple's newly renovated home and their rare sports car when it ripped through the two-storey house.

Fire crews are fighting a "well involved" house fire in Stanmore Bay on the Whangaparaoa Peninsula, north of Auckland.

The fire at TVNZ headquarters has now been extinguished, and fans are being used to ventilate the building.

A fire has broken out at TVNZ Headquarters on Victoria St, Auckland.

Firefighters last night battled a blaze at a farm on Great Barrier Island.

A large fire has destroyed a farm house on Great Barrier Island after it was spotted by off-duty Fire Service staff staying at a hotel on the island.

A man has been arrested following a house fire north of Wellington this morning, which is being treated as a domestic incident.

The owners of 200 storage units lost everything when a Wellington facility became the target of an arson, a court was told today.

The trial for the man who is accused of setting a Wellington storage facility on fire, destroying millions of dollars worth of property, has started in the High Court

Smoke alarms are not most people's idea of a Christmas present, but the Fire Service wants us to think about them anyway.

Ten Kiwis have died in house fires this year where working smoke alarms hadn't been installed.

The 18-month-old toddler injured when his Mount Wellington home went up in flames on Saturday remains in a critical condition in Middlemore Hospital.