Omokoroa firefighters are praising the actions of a Youngson Rd couple who discovered a fire in their home last night.
The couple were at home when they smelled smoke coming from their basement garage about 8.30pm.
When they opened an internal door to the basement they discovered their BMW hatchback on fire
and the room filling with thick, acrid smoke.
The heat from the fire caused damage to another vehicle parked next to it but the house was mostly saved through the couple's quick actions.
Omokoroa volunteer fire brigade fire chief Ian Blunt said the couple did the right thing by closing all doors and windows in and around the basement once they discovered the fire and calling 111.
They then evacuated the house and waited for emergency services.
"That was very good. They confined it to the one area and starved it [the fire] of oxygen," Mr Blunt said.
Firefighters arrived and took control of the fire, preventing it from spreading into the basement ceiling and rest of the house.
Mr Blunt said the fire was "well involved" when they arrived.
"We just saw smoke pouring out through the cracks of the doors, they had roller doors," he said.
"So we made a cautious entry through the back door and extinguished the fire."
Firefighters then dragged the BMW out into the driveway.
It was extensively damaged.
The rear of the vehicle was melted and what glass remained was blackened.
