A man was taken to hospital with burns to his face and hands when an explosion at a Dannevirke house blew a bedroom apart yesterday.

Fire crews are battling a fire at the Sanitarium factory, with black smoke seen billowing out of the roof.

A teenager who admitted throwing fireworks into a popular Auckland forest, causing thousands of dollars damage, said he was just trying to look "cool" in front of his mates.

A 6-year-old girl who was killed in an Auckland house fire last night was described as a "beautiful little girl" who was always wearing a dress and a smile.

A 6-year-old girl was killed in a fire started by a 3-year-old playing with matches in an Auckland home yesterday.

The death of a 6-year-old girl in a house fire in Auckland today has led to calls for matches to be kept away from children.

One person has been taken to hospital following an early morning blaze in a central Wellington office building.

Police are standing guard outside the remains of an abandoned Christchurch house which was destroyed in a suspicious fire early today.

A pizza oven fire has sparked an evacuation of Auckland's Langham Hotel.

Fire crews scrambled to isolate petrol tanks at a Bay of Plenty service station fire overnight.

A disgruntled customer is not being ruled out as the culprit behind a suspicious blaze at a Work and Income office in Auckland this morning.

Dwindling volunteer numbers and a rising number of non-emergency medical callouts were some of the key concerns raised at an annual firefighter's conference this weekend.

A Far North marae hit by fire this week had been the subject of infighting over a new building on the site, a marae leader says.

Two fires last night - one deemed suspicious - are being looked at by Christchurch fire safety officers.

Te Uri o Hikihiki Marae at Mokau is engulfed in flames, with firefighters battling the blaze.

An advertising campaign for an energy drink with the slogan "burn on" has been erected around the Qatar mall where NZ triplets died in an horrific fire.

I wouldn't shed a tear if tomorrow's Guy Fawkes celebrations were the last, writes Brian Rudman. It's not the night itself that's the problem, though the Fire Brigade and the hospitals that have to deal with the mishaps might disagree.

The Fire Service reported a relatively quiet night after the first day of fireworks going on sale, but say some fires were started because not enough care was being taken with the colourful explosives.

Hundreds of ACC claims arising from firework injuries are expected in the next few days as New Zealanders let off shop-bought explosives.