A fire that engulfed a Kaitaia church this morning is being treated as suspicious.

A "Roman candle" in the sky led firefighters to a blaze at a Westport joinery factory last night.

A resident has suffered serious smoke inhalation and minor burns after escaping from a fire that gutted their Christchurch home this morning.

A Palmerston North woman is reluctant to label herself a hero despite saving two young children from a burning car in a supermarket carpark.

A central Wellington building was evacuated this afternoon after a first floor kitchen caught fire.

An electrical fire at an Invercargill school is now under control after breaking out early this morning.

Firefighters are still battling a fierce blaze at a panelbeaters in Dunedin tonight, but have managed to bring the fire under control.

A fire which destroyed a suburban Auckland home early yesterday morning started in the family's laundry, where there were no smoke detectors.

Three people and a dog are believed to have escaped a fire that gutted a suburban Auckland house overnight.

A woman was dragged from a burning home in Auckland last night by quick thinking firefighters after a fire broke out in the kitchen.

A 65-year-old man who lost his life in a blaze in Paeroa has been named by police.

Neighbours are mourning the loss of a 'very good friend' who died in a blaze in Paeroa this morning.

The blaze that gutted two Queenstown homes was yet another caused by the poor disposal of hot ashes, a fire safety officer says.

Two people escaped a fierce fire which gutted two Queenstown houses yesterday.

Fire Service investigators have discovered what caused a blaze that severely damaged an Auckland doctor's clinic this morning.

Patients of an Auckland doctor’s surgery razed by fire this morning have been reassured their medical records are safe and there is alternative care for them.

A duck-shooting trip turned to tragedy yesterday after a group of mates were flung from their boat as it capsized on the Waikato River.

Police have confirmed that one person has died and three others have been taken to hospital after a boat overturned on the Waikato River.

A big scrub fire broke out in the Scroggs Hill near Mosgiel, Otago, this afternoon.

Police were called to a party in North Dunedin last night after firefighters putting out couch fires reported bottles being thrown.

Police have said they are investigating social media post that suggests arson was the cause of the blaze at Rotorua Girls' High.

A property in Levin has been attacked by an arsonist twice in the last two weeks.

Several sheep were killed in a fire that destroyed a woolshed in Manawatu this morning.

A truck driver was taken to Southland Hospital with moderate to serious injuries last night after being trapped in his crashed truck for almost four hours.