Man in hospital when house caught fire

Tenant John Williams outside his house in Manurewa after the fire service put out a fire. Photo / Dean Purcell, NZ Herald

Tenant John Williams was in hospital being treated for a suspected heart attack when he was told his house had caught fire today.

Firefighters were called to Rowandale Ave in Manurewa about 11.30am after neighbours saw smoke billowing from the brick house.

The house didn't suffer external damage but was completely smoke-logged after flames engulfed an internal office and hot water cupboard.

The rooms are now completely blackened.

Broken glass litters the floor inside the home and clear marks in the carpet show the extent of the smoke damage.

The fire service attends to the fire in Manurewa. Photo / Dean Purcell, NZ Herald

Mr Williams said he had been at Middlemore Hospital for two days with severe chest pains when he received a call this morning saying his home was on fire.

"They rang me at hospital. So how do I feel? There's nothing much I can really say.

"I just told my doctors that I have to go. I was leaving anyway."

The guitar collector said his most prized possession - a guitar worth $20,000 - was luckily not in the internal office where he stores his other guitars.

He lost suitcases and clothing from the storage room but said it could have been worse.

His wife and 17-year-old son had both left the house for work and school before 7am, he said.

The family would be staying in a granny flat at the back of the property tonight because of the damage.

"The most expensive guitar that I have was in another room. I normally keep it in there but my son moved it...it was irreplaceable.

"What was lost in that room was stuff that we don't really use anyway, so it may as well be trash."

Mr Williams said he was "absolutely baffled" about what might have caused the blaze.

Papatoetoe senior station officer Terry Jenner said firefighters were originally concerned there may have been a person stuck inside the house.

A group of eight firefighters wearing breathing apparatus entered the property immediately on arrival but found no one inside.

The Fire Service was called about 11.30 and three fire engines were still on site at 1.30pm.

It was lucky because the amount of smoke would have been dangerous, Mr Jenner said.

"The place was full of smoke right down to the carpet level, which is unusual," he said.

"We went straight in for the search and rescue. We don't worry about the fire at the start, we worry about the people. It would be very silly of us to assume nobody's in there.

"Life has first priority over property."

A fire investigator was at the property to determine the cause.