Family flees as blaze engulfs Tamatea home

A Tamatea woman was forced to flee across the road to the sanctuary of neighbours when flames engulfed her house on Saturday - meeting them for the first time.

Noel Stothers was sitting in his Liverpool Cres living room about 7.40pm and "I was just looking through my window and I saw a lady running over with her two kids and I thought, I wonder what they're running to my house for.

"Then I saw the smoke behind."

He opened his door quickly to the family as the roadside filled with residents coming out to watch the blaze.

"It went up really quick - it's amazing how quick it went up," Mr Stothers said.

"You could actually hear the heat breaking neighbours' windows in no time.

"Apparently, a neighbour saw it first and she kicked in the back fence and got everybody out."

Another neighbour pulled a hose through the front gate in an effort to assist.

"We were told to stop in case it exploded a little bit more."

The family watched as the Fire Service extinguished the flames while they were waiting for victim support to arrive.

Fire crew staff told Hawke's Bay Today the house had suffered about 30 per cent damage to its interior.

The cause of the blaze is still being investigated.