Two fire engines put out a car fire in Palmerston North this evening.

A second fire truck has been deemed off limits by firefighters as union action against faulty vehicles goes nationwide.

A teenager has been taken to hospital after suffering burns while trying to start a fire using petrol.

Firefighters are battling a house fire in Hamilton after they were called to the property.

Man who failed to appear as a witness at the David Bain retrial was back in court today over alleged obstruction of a fire officer.

Emergency services have been scrambled to Auckland Airport after the crew reported a burning smell.

The Fire Service, St John, Surf Life Saving and the RSA have revealed plans for National Volunteer Week.

A Timaru toddler who fell 150cm through floorboards in the bathroom of his home is now back to normal after his extraordinary escapade yesterday.

Arcing powerlines have sparked a house fire in Warkworth this morning.

A massive fire that gutted a popular Hamilton restaurant was caused by a stack of hot tea towels spontaneously combusting.

Some of the heaviest objects our firefighters are lifting are obese people.

Fire Service spokesman Murray Dunbar said the fire was well alight when crews arrived.

Two staff members are at fault after the Fire Service was scammed out of $52,000.

He said up to nine fire engines were on site at the incident's peak, but only two are still there.

All firefighters including volunteers, career staff and brigades in urban and rural areas will be pulled together into a single national service.

The New Zealand Fire Service has reportedly lost about $50,000 in an offshore scam thought to involve something being bought from Turkey.

He battled up to 500C heat and 18m flames to save a house and, for his efforts, was transferred to hospital suffering from heat exhaustion.

A "lovely woman" who lived alone with a number of small dogs has died in a house fire in Ponsonby this morning.

Four fire crews are at the scene of a serious house fire in Maungaturoto.

Two policemen who saved a man from a burning flat are being hailed as lifesavers. One of the rescuers required hospital treatment for smoke inhalation.

One person is in hospital suffering from smoke inhalation from a house fire in Whanganui this morning.

A fire at a rural Waikato school is being treated as suspicious, the second arson of a school in the region in a week.

A blaze at a garage in Hamilton this morning has been deemed suspicious.

Firefighters have been battling a blaze at a multi-million dollar building in central Auckland this morning.

A suspicious fire at Hamilton East School is the second of its kind in a matter of years.

Fire fighters are at the scene of a blaze in Cathedral Square in Christchurch. Six fire trucks were called to the scene at about 12.23pm.

One person was trapped in a lift after a transformer caught fire outside Eden Park today.

Firefighters have been battling a blaze that broke out at a Chinese Takeaway shop in Porirua this morning.

Guests at an Auckland motel were evacuated earlier today as a shed fire started spreading to the main building.

A car fire in Auckland is being treated as suspicious.