House burnt to ground

A house burnt to the ground near Tokoroa yesterday after firefighters battled flames for about an hour.

The house was empty when the fire began at 1.05am yesterday, approximately 5km north of Tokoroa on SH1.

Tokoroa Fire Service chief fire officer Dave Morris said numerous calls came in as drivers on SH1 noticed smoke rising from the farm house.

"We had two fire engines attend from Tokoroa and two from Putaruru.

"When we got there the fire was well involved, the whole house was on fire from end-to-end."

He said enquiries showed the fire was not suspicious and had likely been caused by an electrical fault.

"It took a good hour to get the fire under control and we were there until the early hours tapping down hot spots," Mr Morris said. "The house was totally destroyed."

The home was underneath power lines and the power authority disconnected the electricity until the fire was put out.

Sixteen firefighters attended the fire and used a water tanker and a nearby stream for extra water.

"There were some houses in close proximity 60 or 70m away," Mr Morris said. "The house was buggered it was really just about restricting the fire."