The occupants of a Pitt St house arrived home just in time to save it after a freezer motor overheated and caught alight yesterday.
Two fire appliances were called to the Wanganui central property just before noon yesterday when the occupant discovered the fire.
Senior station officer Craig Gardiner said the fire was "just getting going" when firefighters arrived and there was only minor damage. The pets in the house escaped unscathed.
Mr Gardiner said it was lucky the occupants had come home when they did.
Meanwhile, a fire at Bignell St Motel on Tuesday night was started by an electrical fault in a storeroom.
Mr Gardiner said a plastic water pipe above the fire melted from the heat and "acted like a sprinkler system and helped put it out".
"Basically, that was very lucky," Mr Gardiner said.
Damage was minimal, but there was "quite a bit of extensive damage to the electrical circuitry" and part of the walls and roof around the switchboard were burned.
Mr Gardiner said fire safety officers would examine the scene to "make sure there's nothing untoward".