Woman dies in Helensville house fire overnight

An elderly woman has died in a fire that gutted a Helensville house in the early hours of this morning.

Fire crews were called to the two-storey house on Awaroa Rd shortly after midnight and arrived to find it engulfed in flames, assistant area commander John Booth said.

"The second level was burning very fiercely."

Fire crews were told someone was in the house unable to get out, but by the time emergency service workers were able to get inside, the woman had died, Booth said.

An elderly man made it out of the house alive and ambulance staff treated him for smoke inhalation.

He was now with family nearby, Booth said.

The fire was brought under control in about 30 minutes with help from crews called in from Kaukapakapa and Kumeu.

Firefighters were still on site at 5am dampening down hot spots.

A fire inspector is examining the scene.

It was not yet clear whether the house had fire alarms, or what caused the fire, Booth said.