Twenty-two people are crammed into a three-bedroom house after nine of them lost their home and belongings to a raging fire in Beach Haven.
The Lemeki family, including children aged from 2 to 15, are living with relatives in South Auckland while waiting to find a new home.
It was just before 6pm on Thursday when the smoke alarm sounded, alerting them to the fire.
Mother-of-eight Mafi Lemeki said when her son opened one of the bedroom doors, all she saw was flames pouring out.
"I went into the lounge, just grabbed my kids and ran out."
Her neighbours called 111 and the family stood outside watching the flames engulf the house in a matter of minutes.
As Lemeki stood and watched the Housing New Zealand property burning she felt lucky they'd all made it out alive.
"I lost everything, but I'm lucky I got my children," she said. "All our memories are inside that house."
Today, the house remains but is a charred shell. All the windows are broken and a large chunk of the exterior has been blackened by the flames.
Five days on from the fire Lemeki is still overwhelmed by what had happened.
Living in a three-bedroom house on the other side of town, with 21 others, has added to the stress.
"We couldn't sleep; it's hard to cook to feed all of us and there's no space to put our stuff."
The boys are sharing the lounge, a couple sleeps in the van, and the girls have split the remaining rooms between them.
HNZ regional manager Neil Adams said he hoped the family would be rehoused soon.
"We'll continue to work with them to find a more permanent home."
Adams said the Fire Service was investigating the cause of the fire.
"The Fire Service has told us the fire's area of origin is at the foot of the corner of a bed in one of the children's bedrooms."
Meanwhile, as the Lemeki family waits for HNZ to find them a new home, the Beach Haven community has rallied to do what they could to replace the family's charred belongings.
After a call for help was put out on a local Facebook community page, donations began flooding into the Birkdale Community House.
A shed out the back and a small room have been filled with boxes of blankets, children's toys, bikes, kitchen appliances and a new washing machine.
Birkdale Beach Haven community project manager Carla Van Walen said it was "wonderful to see the community wrapping their arms around a family in need".
Speaking about the community's love towards her family was the one thing that moved Mafi Lemeki to tears.
"We are lucky we have the lovely community, they sorted us out. I'm happy at the love."
Asked what other goods her family might need, Lemeki said just a home in Beach Haven.
"Our house to come, we want to be back in Beach Haven. I want to be in this community."
• To find out how you can help the family go here