Wellington fires: House ablaze, apartment evacuated after restaurant fire

Wellington's fire crews were kept busy overnight. Photo / Glenn Taylor

Fire crews attended two fires in the Wellington area overnight, one at a house and the other at a restaurant.

Firefighters were called to Paraparaumu on the Kāpiti Coast at 1.10am, where they found a house on fire.

The house was on Kāpiti Rd, between Main Rd South and Kāpiti Lights.

Fire and Emergency Central shift manager Karen McDonald said the blaze had been extinguished by 2.45am and firefighters then turned over parts of the house to check for anything still burning.

Specialist fire investigators would be returning to the house today to look at what may have caused the fire.

There had also been a small fire in a restaurant in central Wellington, with the fire service first alerted at 2.55am, McDonald said.

The first crew to arrive had found smoke in the restaurant and firefighters from all around Wellington were sent to help, McDonald said.

She said there was no one inside at the time but apartments above or behind the restaurant were evacuated.

Once the fire was extinguished, crews had left, the tenants had gone back into their homes and the building had been left in the hands of the owner.

Specialist fire investigators would also be returning to the restaurant today to determine the cause of the fire.

Meanwhile, police are still investigating a suspicious blaze in Carterton, which saw a house deliberately set alight in the middle of the night.

That fire, early on Monday, March 14, caused extensive damage to two cars parked in the driveway and the exterior of the house.

Wairarapa police are seeking CCTV footage from surrounding streets to help them determine who may have set the fire.

"It could have been much worse if the fire had not been attended to quickly," a police spokesperson said.

Luckily, no one was home at the time of the fire, they said.