She said she went to her backyard to rescue her dog and could not even see the dog kennel because of the thick smoke. Mr Briggs said the three people in the home at the time got out all right.
"It's devastating for the family.
"There's four generations living in that house, the grandfather, his daughter, her daughter and her daughter's children."
"We [the neighbourhood] have all been here for years, we're all very close."
He said the family would be well taken care of, having whanau in the area to help out and provide somewhere to stay for the time being.
Another neighbour had opened her home to the family and was providing cups of tea in shelter from the rain.
Mr Briggs said the fire chief told him they thought the fire had started in the basement, but did not know how.