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.

The Fire Service wants new regulations on child-safe lighters to be fast-tracked by the Government after another house was badly damaged by a child playing with a lighter.

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.

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 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.

The Fire Service has won its latest case in a string of legal battles against insurance brokers taking advantage of loopholes around fire levy policies.

A large scrub fire has been blazing for most of the night in a coastal area north of Christchurch.

An Auckland RSA is facing an uncertain future after it was engulfed in flames in the early hours of the morning.

Two large blazes broke out in Auckland in the early hours of the morning.

Unclean kitchen flues may have led to the fire that caused extensive damage to celebrity chef Al Brown's high-profile Auckland restaurant.

Police say there was no foul play to a car fire near Nelson in which a person was dead.