House fire threatens historic hall

Fire crews raced to the fire that threatened the historic Mohaka Round Hall.

A house has been razed in a mid-afternoon fire just 200 metres from the historic Mohaka Round Hall in Northern Hawke's Bay.

The fire, in a small house in a lane off Mohaka Township Rd and between the 114-year-old hall and Mohaka School, was reported at 3.24pm on Sunday.

Wairoa Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Grant Duley said the surrounding countryside was dry and the day was hot, raising fears that the fire could spread to the hall if there had been any wind in the hall's direction.

There was not, but the house was all-but levelled by the time volunteer fire crews arrived from Wairoa and Putorino, each about 35km away.

"It had collapsed, all but the veranda pillars," Mr Duley said.

The female occupant was believed to have been in the house at the time and escaped without injury.

Police were called but there were not believed to be any suspicious circumstances.

The nearby hall, opened in 1902, was unscathed.