Hemi Rapata just had time to get his five kids - the youngest only two years old, the oldest nine - out of the house before it went up like an inferno.
The Matauri Bay man said he feared for the safety of his children after a confrontation outside his house on Thursday evening so he took them to his father's home next door.
When he returned minutes later he saw the flames. He called 111 but the blaze took hold so quickly they could do little but stop the blaze spreading to the surrounding bush.
Mr Rapata said the fire had destroyed everything he, his partner and children owned.
"We've lost the whole lot. The stove, furniture, beds, family photos. It's just devastating," he said.