Panic erupts as a fireworks show in Whakatane goes wrong during a hectic night across the country for fire services.

The house fire in which renowned medical professor Sir Don Beaven has died was not suspicious, say police.

The man killed in a fire on his South Auckland farm was the husband of district court judge Jane Lovell-Smith.

Dominic King's fireworks injuries were so horrific he required a skin graft and two operations.

Suspicion that arsonists may have been behind a series of spot fires near Rockhampton in central Queensland, lit while firefighters were battling a "terrifying" wildfire, has fuelled community anger.

Residents of a Rockhampton suburb were last night being urged to evacuate their homes as a "terrifying" bushfire threatens properties in the central Queensland city.