Family flee house fire

Four adults and two children were sleeping when fire broke out. Photo / File

Built-up chimney heat was enough to ignite the ceiling of a Northland farm cottage but fortunately the family woke and were able to douse the flames with buckets of water before it destroyed their home.

While there were smoke alarms in the house, batteries were not installed. The alarm was raised about 1am yesterday by an adult who was one of six people in the house on Russek Rd, near Hukerenui.

Northland fire investigator Craig Bain said over time built-up chimney heat had sparked the fire in the ceiling of the three bedroom home.

Four adults and two children were sleeping when fire broke out. The cracking and popping of burning wood woke an adult who was sleeping in the lounge.

A call was made to the fire service and the adults used water from a nearby tank to fill buckets to throw on the flames.

"They got stuck in with buckets and stopped it from spreading,"Mr Bain said.

When the Kawakawa brigade arrived, Chief Fire Officer Wayne Martin said the family had "knocked" out most of the fire. "We got in there with the thermal imaging camera and had a look for hot spots."

He said the fire had damaged rafters in the ceiling and a wall. The family would have to move out for repair work to be done. With a cold snap coming it was important to remain vigilant with fires, Mr Martin said.