House ablaze in rural Tauranga

A fire in a rural Tauranga house this morning was mostly contained to a bedroom and the ceiling cavity above, a firefighter says.

Greerton Station officer Richard Moreland said the whole house was extensively damaged by smoke in the early morning blaze.

He said no one was in the Minden Rd house at the time of the fire but firefighters had been in touch with the owner of the property.

The house that caught fire this morning. Photo/John Borren

The first firefighters on the scene, a Tauranga crew, hit the blaze with a high-pressure delivery from the outside, Mr Moreland said.

Mr Moreland said traffic on Minden Rd was down to one lane at times while firefighters worked to extinguish the fire.

The house is located just behind the Te Puna Holiday Park and across Minden Rd from the shops. The fire produced a large plume of smoke which could be seen around the village.

This morning's blaze produced a large smoke plume. Photo/supplied

Fire and Emergency Northern Communications shift manager Jaron Phillips said crews arrived at the house to find it well ablaze.

Fire crews from Tauranga and Greerton were at the scene dampening down hotspots, Mr Phillips said just before 7.30am.

They were using a positive pressure ventilation fan to reduce the amount of smoke.

The house, roughly 50 by 10m, was "seriously damaged".

A specialist from the fire risk management team was investigating.