Mount Maunganui fire that gutted house being treated as suspicious

A house fire that gutted a Mount Maunganui house on Friday afternoon is being treated as suspicious, Fire and Emergency New Zealand says.

Neighbours saw flames "leaping" from the roof and heard "banging" and "explosions".

The property has been taped off and a fire investigator and police were at the scene this morning.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said they were called to Orkney Rd, near Tweed St about 4pm yesterday.

Three fire trucks from Tauranga and Mount Maunganui arrived to find the house fire "well involved".

There was initially concern for the safety of one individual, however, they were found safe and well.

The house was empty.

The Orkney Rd property was destroyed by a fire on Friday afternoon. Photo / Cira Olivier

A neighbour, who did not want to be named, said his family was home when the fire began and it was the kids who noticed it first.

The house, which used to be a rental, had been vacant for about four weeks, he said.

The resident said they heard "banging" and "exploding" and they quickly moved the cars from the driveway.

"It's amazing how quickly it went up [in flames]", he said, with it taking between 15 and 20 minutes for the house to become well-alight.

He said it was lucky there had been a bit of rain this week and that it wasn't in the middle of summer as the surrounding trees may have caught alight.

A man who lived on Gordon Rd behind the property said his wife was "freaking out" when she looked out the window about 4pm to see smoke billowing out of the house.

The Orkney Rd property was taped off after being gutted by fire. Photo / Cira Olivier

Flames were "leaping off the roof" and the couple were wondering what would happen, but were comforted by the large space of land between the houses.

He rushed home and his neighbour told them to close their windows as the wind was blowing it towards their property.

He said a person had been at the property on and off for a few years mowing the lawn but he hadn't seen him in a while.