Northland police investigating fatal fire at rural Kaiwaka property

A fatal fire took place in Kaiwaka earlier this afternoon. Photo / NZME

A person has died after a fire broke out at a rural section in Kaiwaka earlier today.

The Kaiwaka Volunteer Fire Brigade was first called to the blaze on a property near State Highway 1 around 12.48pm.

Deputy chief fire officer Adrian Buxton said when they arrived a car and tractor were on fire.

The situation escalated into what Buxton called an “exposure fire” when the flames spread to the house next to where the two vehicles were burning.

The fire’s intensity prompted him to increase the callout to a second alarm which brought in brigades from Mangawhai, Wellsford, and Maungatūroto to rush to the scene.

Together, the volunteer firefighters worked with pace to extinguish the blaze.

“It was fairly quick once we got the house under control and then the main fire in the car and tractor,” Buxton said.

He said the property, while technically urban but in a more rural area on the south side of Kaiwaka, had received minor damage.

Northland police confirmed this afternoon they had recovered a body from the scene.

Neither Buxton nor police commented on where the body had been found.

A spokesperson said at this stage, the death was being treated as unexplained.

“A post-mortem examination is expected to take place in the coming days to determine the cause of death.”

Police would be working alongside Fire and Emergency NZ investigators to find the cause of the fire.