Fire causes heavy smoke to billow from house on Magnolia Crescent in Whanganui

Smoke was billowing from a house on Magnolia Crescent after firefighters extinguished a fire. Photo / Bevan Conley

Firefighters have put out a fully involved house fire on Magnolia Crescent in Whanganui and one person has been transported to hospital with burns to their hands.

Smoke is billowing from the roof of the Springvale home after the fire was extinguished at 5.36pm following an emergency call made at 4.50pm Tuesday.

A resident who lives at a nearby property said he discovered the incident when he watched a neighbour running towards the home.

"Initially I thought it was just fog and then I heard the alarm going off," the man who did not want to be named said.

"It was really dark, black smoke. I ran outside and saw the owner come out. Someone gave first aid to him."

He said another neighbour approached the scene with a fire extinguisher, but by then emergency services had arrived.

"We were worried because when they opened a closed window, we thought it might burst. We could feel the smoke. I had to move away, it was a bit hard to breathe."

"The smoke was so thick, you couldn't even see probably 100 to 150 metres ahead."

The fire is not being treated as suspicious, but a fire investigator has been contacted and was communicating with the firefighters at the scene.