At 1pm a police officer came out of the address and took a battering ram from his car.
However, from the cordon, about 75m away, there were no sounds of a forced entry at the house. It is understood telephone connection with the man was intermittent during the ordeal.
After a tense stand-off lasting until 2pm, a man came out of the house and was taken into police custody.
Fire engines and an ambulance had moved from around the corner to outside the address only minutes earlier.
The St John crew was not asked to leave the ambulance, and a man was driven away from the scene in a police car.
During the call-out, neighbours and other traffic wanting to access the street were turned away.
Several people arrived at the cordon asking if they could get to their children in the Manaakitia Te Kohanga Reo further down the street.
They were told they could go through connecting Thomas St to collect the children at the other end of the cordon.
One man told the Northern Advocate the incident appeared not to threaten neighbours' or public safety because nearby properties had not been emptied by police.
"But I'm worried about the effect on my little girl who's in the kohanga," he said.
"Those kids can tell it's a very stressful situation, with armed police out in the street."
Another man asked the police if he could check on his "old nan, she'll be worried."
Despite the cordon, there was minimal police presence in the street itself, indicating the need to keep a volatile situation low key.