A man has been charged after a fire erupted in a “property of interest” while police were conducting inquiries this morning.
Police believed the West Auckland house, which was allegedly used for drug manufacturing, may have been set on fire deliberately.
A person was taken to hospital with a dog bite after the 5.30am blaze on Colwill Rd, Massey.
Four people, aged 39 to 54, were taken from the property, police said.
The 54-year-old man has been charged with arson, producing/manufacturing methamphetamine, injuring a police dog and resisting police.
A bedside hearing would be held at a later date, police said.
Detective Inspector Albie Alexander, of the National Organised Crime Group, said police believed the house may have been set on fire deliberately.
“It was one of two properties of interest suspected of involvement in manufacturing drugs.
“Members of the National Organised Crime Group clan lab investigations team, supported by the Armed Offenders Squad, clan lab response team and Fire and Emergency NZ, were in attendance to execute the warrant.
“However, upon police arrival, it’s believed one of the occupants deliberately set fire to the property.”
Fire and Emergency NZ and PHF Science were helping with detailed examinations of the properties and had found early signs of drug manufacturing, he said.
Video footage shows a wall of flames erupting from the suburban property as fire engulfs the two-storey home.
Fire and Emergency said firefighters were near the scene at a police meeting point when the fire broke out.
Firefighters brought the blaze under control by 6.40am.
Residents on the street reported seeing police and the Armed Offenders Squad in the area before the house “exploded”, with flames shooting high above it.
One resident, who asked not to be named, told the Herald he woke to the sound of the fire exploding.
“[I] woke up to explosions, followed by police dogs barking, police yelling at someone to get on the ground.
“I could hear it so clearly as it echoed from my backyard.
“[It was] like watching a movie unfold. My dog woke us up to the commotion.”
He said it was a “bit of a shock to wake up to” and he hoped no one was hurt.
Another local said she saw “cops with guns” on Royal Rd when she drove past.
A woman who lives across the road from the home happened to wake up just before the chaos.
“My daughter woke me up because she’s a newborn baby.”
The woman could see police filing down the driveway.
“And then, next minute, we see them running around the house. And then we see the house on fire. It just blew up. It was loud.”
There was also a fire at the house last week, she said.
“My mum came over last week, and they had a little fire, and my mum rang the fire brigade and sent them over there.
“They contained that fire real quick. My mum was like, ‘Something is not right over there’; she told us, ‘Be careful’.”
Police had been at the home in the past, she said.
She described the flames from today’s blaze as travelling high into the sky.
The top of the street was cordoned off this morning.
Residents reported hearing a helicopter circling at the time of the fire.
With the fire now out, all that remains of the home is a blackened shell.
Cordons remained on Colwill Rd, with armed police blocking access.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.