Man escapes from burning farmhouse

A man has escaped from a burning farmhouse in Atiamuri after he woke to find a room full of smoke.

Rotorua Fire Service senior station officer Colin Rolfe said a farmhouse on SH30 near Atiamuri burned to the ground on Monday night.

He said the sole occupant in the house escaped after waking up.

He said the man had called the fire service from his neighbour's house at 10.30pm, which was a fair distance from the burning house.

When the fire service arrived the house was "well involved" and Mr Rolfe said they did not have enough water to tackle the blaze.

He said the fire service focused on preventing the fire from spreading, while a tanker from Taupo was making its way to the site.

Mr Rolfe said the blaze was eventually put out. He said the house did not have any fire alarms and the man was lucky to escape.

He urged local residents to make sure they had fire alarms which were working.

The house was destroyed.