Christchurch woman Peta Pool and her grandson Justice faced a long drive back to Canterbury after their pop top caravan burned to the ground yesterday.

A West Auckland family escaped from an inferno after their house was deliberately set on fire early on Christmas morning.

Seven months ago their lives were a happy chaos as they raised energetic and vibrant triplets Lillie, Jackson and Willsher.

A fire that forced a family of eight to flee their west Auckland home early today was deliberately lit, police say.

A Hastings teen is being hailed a hero after jumping a 3-metre fence, dragging a sleeping man from his bed and extinguishing a flaming frying pan.

Sprinklers in a Doha mall could have stopped the smoke that claimed the lives of 19 people including young New Zealand triplets - if they were working.

Red, white and blue cars were set alight on different streets over a four-hour period in Upper Hutt last night.

A volunteer firefighter failed to mention his conviction for arson when he applied for duty with a rural fire force.

A volunteer firefighter failed to mention his conviction for arson when he applied for duty with a rural fire force.

Rural landowners risk hefty bills for fires that take more than an hour to fight, Wairarapa principal rural fire officer Phil Wishnowsky has warned.

A Nelson pub was gutted by a suspicious fire that sparked fears for an adjacent petrol station early this morning.

New Zealand's greatest batsman, Martin Crowe, is understood to have set fire to his New Zealand cricket blazer in protest at the demotion of Ross Taylor as captain.

A person has died in a house fire in Wanganui today.

Two adults and five children escaped when fire tore through this Maraenui Housing New Zealand house in Napier on Saturday. The occupants heard a smoke detector begin to go off - then heard one of the children cry out "fire!" The fire was believed to have broken out in a room where the children had been playing but it was not known how it started. Video supplied by Justin Walker.

As fire tore through the house leaving her with nothing more than she was wearing, Maraenui woman Sharron Paramore collapsed to the ground in shock and tears.

Video: Firefighters battled a large fire at the AHI Roofing plant in Glen Innes this morning.

Off-roading fans say burned out cars common in area but body find was complete shock Shane Malcolm Bell I wished we had kept on driving because it was a grisly find.

As Queensland sweltered in yesterday's heatwave and fires burned across large areas of the continent, Australia received warning of a dangerous summer ahead.