A fire at a childcare centre on Auckland's North Shore early this morning is being treated as suspicious.

Valuable books are thought to be safe after a fire at Victoria University's library in Wellington this morning was sparked in an acetylene tank.

A fire which gutted the historic Aparima Tavern at Riverton yesterday spread "unbelievably quickly", a customer says.

A woman will appear in court today after a suspicious Invercargill house fire where firefighters pulled out an unconscious occupant.

A member of the public chased an arsonist attempting to set fire to a vacant Waikato building.

A woman was just moments from death when she was rescued from a house fire in Invercargill early this morning, one of the firefighters who saved her says.

Plumes of smoke were sent into the air as fire burst out at a liquor store in Mt Wellington this afternoon.

A garage, a ute and a fishing launch have been destroyed in two fires in the Far North.

A blaze which tore through a house and car in Tokoroa this morning is being treated as suspicious.

For Hawkes Bay woman Alicia Buxton, some of her most precious possessions were the little boxes of "firsts".

Fire safety officers are investigating the cause of a Dunedin house fire in which a dog died yesterday.

A young mother who died in an house fire had disconnected one of her smoke alarms earlier in the evening because it kept beeping, according to a coroner's finding.

Police say charges will not be laid in relation to a car fire in Gisborne that badly burned two children.

An Auckland family's home has been gutted by fire just six months after they moved in.

Twenty people were killed in avoidable house fires in the past 12 months and in most cases, there was no working smoke alarm, the Fire Service says.

Authorities are investigating a house fire which occurred on Auckland's North Shore last night.

The sight of a young couple trapped in a burning car with a power line draped over it, calling their children to say goodbye, spurred two firefighters into action.

Two Horowhenua College students have been rushed to Palmerston North hospital today after a chemical fire at the school.

A fire at Christchurch Hospital this morning was sparked by workers using a grinder.

The residents of a Christchurch home lost most of their possessions in one of three fires in the South Island since last night.

Oamaru boy Aljay Rankin, 10, is being praised for his clear thinking and quick action in saving his sister and home from a potentially disastrous fire.

LPG cylinders helped fuel a massive house blaze in West Auckland that took firefighters hours to bring under control.