Thirteen years have passed since the day New York firefighter John Mills' life changed forever.

Two abandoned Christchurch houses have been seriously damaged in suspicious fires early today.

A man was killed yesterday after a controlled burn-off on a 13,000 ha station in Otago, which was so big it was visible from the town of Cromwell.

Police were negotiating with a man later found dead in a house fire in Northland early this morning after a firearms incident.

An explosion injured as many as six people last night when a large steel grass roller blew up after it was put on a Mosgiel bonfire.

One person was injured in a house fire in Rotorua this morning.

Today is a special day for a little boy who has miraculously emerged from the aftermath of a car fire that nearly took his life.

When the Kaingaroa Forest Volunteer Fire Brigade membership dwindled to just four, the station was faced with closure.

Eight people have escaped a Papatoetoe house fire this evening. Two fire crews were called out to the blaze at 8.40pm and were still at the property doing salvage work at 9.15pm.

Firefighters are currently dealing with a large chemical spill at a freight yard in South Auckland.

Neighbours tried to save a man who was trapped inside his burning home in Titahi Bay this morning, but were driven back by thick smoke and flames.

A grandfather raced into a burning home to rescue his 3-year-old grandson.

A person is dead following a house fire in Wanaka overnight.

One of the first police to arrive at the scene of Australia’s worst house fire says the intensity of the blaze prevented the rescue of 11 people trapped inside.

Unitec spokeswoman Liz Phillips said an electrical fire broke out in a ceiling space in a building in the centre of the campus.

A truck driver was hospitalised after chemicals leaked from his truck near Taupo overnight, the fire service says.

Three people have been hospitalised after two Dunedin houses caught fire overnight, the fire service says.

A chemical fire has broken out off Hewletts Rd in Mt Maunganui tonight and emergency services have cordoned off the area.

A Hokitika teenager suffered serious burns after a party prank backfired in Kokatahi.