Blaze guts Christchurch home overnight

Four fire crews battled the blaze for almost six hours. Photo / File

A resident has suffered serious smoke inhalation and minor burns after escaping from a fire that gutted their Christchurch home this morning.

Four fire crews battled the blaze for almost six hours and it was now extinguished, Fire Service spokesman Andrew Norris said.

The teams were called to the incident on Wayside Ave about 12.40am and the large house was well-involved when they got there.

There was indications a person was still inside the house but had managed to escape the blaze before the Fire Service arrived, Mr Norris said. They were taken to Christchurch Hospital.

The house suffered extensive damage - causing issues for the firefighters because it was so unstable, Mr Norris said.

Crews were still onsite and a fire investigator would head to the scene at "first light", he said.

"There were issues extinguishing the house because it was so extensively damaged that it was unstable.

"They're making entry as little as they can into the property so they're just trying to deal with it the best they can without getting inside it."

The cause of the fire has not yet been determined.