Wellington fire: 'Massive' house blaze in Kilbirnie sends smoke billowing across sea

A massive house fire in Wellington has been extinguished, but the building looks near collapse, so fire services could be there "all day".

The Kilbirnie fire sent plumes of smoke billowing across the ocean this morning, and assistant fire commander Des Irving told the Herald although the flames are out, the work isn't over.

"We're doing some salvage work, some turnover to make sure it's completely out. The roof is starting to sag so it limits what we can and can't do."

Yule St is cordoned off, and Irving says it could remain that way "all day" as Fire and Emergency dampens hot spots. It's too early to know what caused the blaze, but investigators are on site.

Big house fire in Rongotai this morning, fanned by strong winds pic.twitter.com/qvD5yC9bOk

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The occupants of the house are all safe - but Irving says it could have been a different story, had they not had an escape plan.

"Everyone should make sure they have working smoke alarms and an escape plan."

Neighbour Kelley Toy told the Herald the house has been "almost destroyed" in a matter of minutes.

"It's just crazy how fast it is. When you see it in person it's so shocking, and we really feel for the family - they just started renovating this house and no one wants to lose a home.

A second neighbor, who didn't wish to be named, said it felt like the house went up in flames in "seconds".

"It was all so fast. It's not so much the heat but inhaling that smoke – the fumes, you just have to get out because you can't breathe."

She told the Herald the house was "destroyed" and its owners would likely have to build an entirely new one.

Janet, another witness to the fire, told the Herald it was "massive".

pic.twitter.com/nhuxhdNING

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"It's quite disconcerting, there's lots of cars, lots of fire engines trying to get through. It's pretty bad, quite sad to see."

She says she was driving through the bay when she noticed the massive plume of smoke billowing towards the ocean. She urged people to stay away so that emergency services could get through easily.