"We're proud of our staff, and very grateful to the police and fire brigade, who did a fine job. Damage to the building is quite minor but there's a lot of cleaning up to do."
Residents would not have to move out during the clean-up but would be squeezed up temporarily into one of the home's two wings while the other was being cleaned. Other services delivered from the same building, including a GP clinic, were not affected and were operating normally.
Chief Fire Officer Lindsay Murray said the blaze started in a hallway switchboard. Staff had evacuated most residents when the brigade arrived but could not get to the last few due to the thick, acrid smoke. It had taken some time to establish exactly where the fire was.
"I grabbed the CO2 extinguisher and gave it a bit of a squirt. There was one person still inside, so I sent in a firefighter in breathing apparatus to get him out. It was all on for a while," he added.
The evacuees were taken behind smoke-stop doors, and some out on to a porch, out of the rain. The smoke alarms did their job but the heat was insufficient to activate the building's sprinklers.
"The nurses did a great job getting the residents out, and we did a great job putting the fire out, but we do need more volunteers," Mr Murray said.
Power was restored to most of the building later in the morning. The kitchen cooktops were working but not the ovens or dishwasher. An insurance assessor was due mid-afternoon, after which the clean-up would begin in earnest.
The Kerikeri Fire Brigade also attended, using a thermal camera to check for heat in the walls and ceiling and an extractor fan to clear the smoke.