Two people were treated for smoke inhalation after a "potentially catastrophic" fire at a house in Kotuku St on Monday morning.
Fire crews were called to the property about 8am after an accidentally-punctured aerosol can, clothing and a gas heater in a hallway combined to ignite a fire in a bedroom, station officer Bryan Coskerie said.
"The people were very lucky that a neighbour came to their assistance and extinguished the fire with a garden hose which prevented a lot of damage," Mr Coskerie said.
"The fire was out by the time we arrived but it was a very close call and potentially could have been catastrophic.
"It's a timely warning for people with gas heaters to be extremely careful. We use the 'one metre heater' rule which means keep clothing and combustibles at least one metre away from heaters."