Grieving family's home burns

DEVASTATED: Most of the family's possessions were destroyed in the fire.

A Northland family lost almost everything they owned in a major fire while they were at a tangi for a man who died in a crash just two days earlier.

No one was home at Turner St, Kaeo, house when the fire broke out about 7am yesterday.

Fire officials said thick morning fog may have meant the blaze went unnoticed, allowing it to take hold.

Kaeo fire chief Lindsay Murray lives just 200m away but didn't notice anything until the station alarm sounded.

"For a start all you could see was a bit of smoke," Mr Murray said.

However, when the Kaeo volunteers arrived flames were leaping from the windows of the single storey Housing New Zealand home.

Their first priority was to check no one was inside. A neighbour told them the family was at a local marae attending a tangi for a man who died in a crash about 11.30pm on Saturday.

Police said the man was driving on SH10 near Kaeo when he lost control on a sharp corner just before a one-lane bridge, went up a bank and rolled. He died at the scene.

Extra firefighters were called in from Kerikeri and Mangonui to help douse the blaze. The house, a garage and three cars parked outside were destroyed.

Fire Service volunteer support officer Colin Kitchen said coordinated work by the three brigades, totalling about 20 firefighters, saved a house just 5m away. They used water from a neighbour's water tank and the nearby Kaeo Hospital.

Mr Kitchen said initial investigations showed there were no working fire alarms installed in the house which may have meant an earlier warning and quicker intervention.

A fire investigator was at the house yesterday trying to determine what caused the fire.

The police Serious Crash Unit is investigating Saturday's crash. Police have yet to release the man's name.