An Auckland family's home has been gutted by fire just six months after they moved in.

Twenty people were killed in avoidable house fires in the past 12 months and in most cases, there was no working smoke alarm, the Fire Service says.

Authorities are investigating a house fire which occurred on Auckland's North Shore last night.

The sight of a young couple trapped in a burning car with a power line draped over it, calling their children to say goodbye, spurred two firefighters into action.

Two Horowhenua College students have been rushed to Palmerston North hospital today after a chemical fire at the school.

A fire at Christchurch Hospital this morning was sparked by workers using a grinder.

The residents of a Christchurch home lost most of their possessions in one of three fires in the South Island since last night.

Oamaru boy Aljay Rankin, 10, is being praised for his clear thinking and quick action in saving his sister and home from a potentially disastrous fire.

Faced with a quickly escalating fire at her home, Social Development Minister Paula Bennett grabbed what she thought were her dearest personal items - her Cabinet papers.

The father of 2-year-old New Zealand triplets who died in a Qatar mall fire just over a year ago has expressed his relief at guilty verdicts in the case.

A firefighter became trapped in a fatal house fire when a ceiling collapsed on top of him, pinning him to the floor.

Police are working to identify a person found dead after a house fire in Hamilton today.

A mother's fight for justice over the death of her autistic son will go to the Health and Disability Commissioner.

A North Shore mother suffered smoke inhalation and burns yesterday as she rescued her two toddlers who had set fire to one of their beds with a lighter.

A fire which engulfed a block of flats north of Wellington early this morning is being treated as suspicious.

A smouldering electric blanket filled a bedroom with smoke before it burst into flames at a Canterbury house yesterday.

A caregiver will not be charged over the death of an autistic man who died in a locked house while the caregiver was out picking up a takeaway meal.

Hundreds of people have farewelled a 14-year-old girl killed in a fire at a Rotorua factory after a party.

Police say there is no evidence a molotov cocktail started a fire in Rotorua which killed a 14-year-old girl.

A Rotorua teenager who died in a fire at the weekend has been described as a bubbly girl who had a bright future.