Homeowners could have to pay more in Fire Service levies under a proposed shake-up of the way the service is funded.

A fire in the laundry of a central Wellington day spa may have been sparked by oily towels in a drier.

A fire ban for Auckland - the first for the region - will be reviewed today after two days of rain.

One of the driest Januaries in more than 100 years has resulted in an "extreme'' and "severe'' lack of soil moisture across all of the North Island.

A massive garden centre fire which dominated the Masterton skyline erupted while lunchtime customers browsed and destroyed $250,000 worth of vehicles and equipment.

Firefighters have managed to subdue the massive fire that englufed a Masterton garden centre earlier this afternoon.

The father of the Kiwi triplets killed in a mall fire in Doha says the prosecution case at a trial to decide culpability for the fatal fire was "fairly limited''.

The last of the prosecution witnesses in the Doha mall fire trial has given evidence on how the deadly blaze was ignited.

Firefighters were still dampening down hotspots at scrub fires around Auckland last night after a frantic few hours that saw a number of fires stretch resources.

Burning cowpats proved problematic at a large grass fire in Te Hauke, south of Hastings.

Fire chiefs are angry the army will start live firing again today at the scene of last week's big blaze at West Melton in Canterbury.

Fire danger in rural Wairarapa is rising and water restrictions are tightening ahead of the hottest, driest days of the year.

Aucklanders still aren't heeding a complete fire ban in the region with the Fire Service being called to "tonnes" of jobs so far this weekend.