Fire crews have been called to a house in Alma Rd, Whanganui

Fire crews are at the scene of a house fire in Alma Rd.

Some quick thinking by a neighbour armed with a garden hose helped keep an Alma Rd house fire under control until firefighters arrived.

Firefighters were called to the scene just before 12pm on Monday after a neighbour spotted flames at the back of the house.

Whanganui station officer Brian Coskerie said the cause of the fire was under investigation.

"At this stage we are not sure exactly how it started. Nobody was home," he said.

Coskerie said the neighbour who spotted the fire picked up a garden hose to douse the fire.

"He prevented a lot of damage happening," he said.

"It was relatively minor damage because of the intervention that the neighbour made.

Coskerie said the fire started at the back of the house.

Police blocked part of Alma Rd off while the fire was put out.

Part of Alma Rd is closed to traffic.