Investigation into fatal caravan fire at Peria, near Kaitaia

Rescuers' worst fears were realised when the body of a man was found in a burnt-out caravan in Peria. Photo / Supplied

A nearby neighbour to yesterday's fatal caravan fire in Peria says the moment he saw the "intense" blaze he realised there was "nothing we could do".

Alan had no idea anybody was inside after he and others raced to the property down a driveway on Oruru Rd hoping to help.

"The building [or] shelter was so engulfed with the fire that the caravan was not even visible. At this time it was not obvious if anyone was there, let alone alive," he said.

"... it was obvious that it was too late to take any direct action."

It was around 7.30am when Alan's 3-year-old son Aksel came inside from where he'd been playing on the drive and said, "Fire. Smoke".

"We became aware of a very loud bang at one point along with the sounds of the fire burning at intense heat."

Since it was close by Alan - along with other nearby locals – decided to go and see if he could help.

Alan said the caravan, on Oruru Rd between Kohumaru Rd and Honeymoon Valley Rd, was only about 200m to 300m from a rural road.

He and another resident arrived side by side at the scene to find a man with the same intentions already there. Shortly afterwards, another two men showed up.

"The fire was just so intense. It was just this big ball of fire with so much smoke coming off it. The smoke was all black," he said.

"All I could see was the timber supports through this big ball of fire. I was completely unaware of the caravan there.

"We all saw nothing could be done," Alan said.

Four fire crews, two each from Kaitāia and Mangōnui, responded soon after. As did police and St John Ambulance.

Fears for the caravan's occupant were confirmed when a body was found inside.

"It's very, very sad," Alan said.

He was downcast the person, who police are yet to release details about, was on their own.

However, Alan was humbled that so many people in the community had rushed to help after also spotting the plumes of dark smoke. He said neighbours had messaged to check on one another.

Fire and Emergency NZ sent four fire investigators from as far away as Whangārei to the settlement, inland from Doubtless Bay, to establish the cause of the blaze.

A police spokesman said the investigation was in its early stages.

''A scene examination has been taking place today [Thursday] and police are working with Fire to establish the cause of this fire,'' he said.