Houses badly damaged in separate fires overnight

Photo / file

Two houses have been badly damaged by fire in different parts of the upper North Island overnight.

Police were treating one of the fires, at a house in Titoki west of Whangarei, as suspicious.

Firefighters arrived to find the house burning fiercely shortly after midnight.

Fire Service spokesman Jaron Philips said it was in a remote area and a tanker was sent from Dargaville to supply water.

No one was believed to be in the house at the time and no one was hurt, he said.

However, the house was badly damaged and a fire safety officer and police were investigating.

Earlier in the night, a house on Auckland's North Shore suburb of Beachhaven was also well ablaze when firefighters arrived at 10.30pm.

A neighbour, who made an emergency 111 call, said there was a sound of breaking glass and flames were coming out of the house in Fairclough Rd.

The fire was thought to have started in the rear of the house. No one was hurt.

Fire safety officers were also investigating the Beachhaven blaze.

- NZPA