Second house caught up in Auckland property fire

Flames from an Otahuhu house fire were so intense they spread to a neighbouring property.

The unoccupied Hutton St house was well ablaze when firefighters arrived, Northern fire communications shift manager Scott Osmond said.

It was one of two house fires in Auckland overnight, while Christchurch fire safety will be investigating a suspicious car fire which spread to a garage early this morning.

Although there was no one living in the Otahuhu house, the occupants of the property next door had to be evacuated as flames spread and the heat causing damage to their home, he said.

"It was well ablaze and obviously the heat caused some damage to a house next door relatively close to it. They were quite close."

There were no injuries, he said.

Osmond said the communications centre received about four calls to the fire but he was unsure if any came from the evacuated property.

Four appliances were sent to the fire which took about 40 minutes to bring under control.

Two appliances - from Otahuhu and Papatoetoe - will remain at the scene in case of any flare ups as well as protecting the scene for a fire safety investigator who is set to arrive about 8am.

Earlier in the evening eight fire crews were sent to an inner city apartment block in Viaduct Quay where there was a fire in a fourth level apartment.

Osmond said the sprinkler system put most of the 9pm fire out but attending crews extinguished what was left.

The building was evacuated for several hours as the fire was contained.

Meanwhile, in the Christchurch suburb of Woolston, a car parked in a driveway caught fire about 1.15am.

The flames began to spread to the Ti Rakau Dr garage when the occupants of the home called 111. Fire crews arrived and their actions meant the garage only suffered minor damage. The occupants were not injured.

A fire safety officer will also head to the scene this morning to determine what happened, until then it is being treated as suspicious.