A resident in Whanganui's St Johns Hill had a narrow escape after a spark from a power tool ignited a container of flammable liquid.
Whanganui firefighters attended a callout to a Great North Rd address around 10.30am on Thursday.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said the shed where the power tool was being used had not caught fire.
"A grinder was being used in the vicinity of the 40-gallon drum but there was no structure fire," he said.
A St John spokesman said an ambulance was called to the address at 10.33am but was not needed.
