Blaze 'totally destroys' Whakatāne home, crews battle fire for hours

The house fully ablaze. Photo / Supplied

Firefighters have battled a blaze which "totally destroyed" a Whakatāne home for almost three hours.

Whakatāne Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Ken Clark said firefighters were called to a small home on Ruatoki Valley Rd shortly before 3pm yesterday.

Clark said people were inside the home at the time but thankfully no one was injured.

"The house was totally destroyed... by the time we got there, there was nothing we could save," he said.

"From all accounts witnesses, who saw the fire start from the early stages, said within five minutes the house was totally engulfed in flames."

Clark said fire crews battled the blaze for almost three hours before returning to the station at 6.45pm.

Three fire trucks and a water tanker were called to the scene.

The cause of the fire was yet to be determined.

Clark said the house fire was the last of six fire callouts for the volunteers, the first being at 2.05am on Tuesday.

He emphasised the importance of smoke alarms in the home calling them "a lifeline."

Meanwhile, firefighters were called to a fire on a rural Whakamarama property about 10pm yesterday.

Omokoroa fire chief Ian Blunt said the fire had started in the roof of a property on Wainui South Rd.

"It was burning quite freely," he said.

Blunt said about four fire trucks and a water tanker were called to help at the scene.

"Firefighters did very well to get the fire under control within seven-to-eight minutes," he said.

"It was a very good save."

He said there were smoke alarms in the house and, thankfully, no one was hurt in the blaze.

The fire brigade had just launched a rural fire safety campaign and encouraged rural property owners to be aware of the access firefighters have to their properties in case of an emergency.