Four people, including a young child, escaped without injury after a house fire in South Waikato early today.
Tokoroa fire chief Dave Morris said the Balmoral Ave house was a write-off after the 2am fire.
One of the occupants became aware of the fire after waking up and noticing smoke beginning to fill the house.
"He woke everybody up and they all jumped out the window and the fire intensified."
High winds in the area overnight only helped fan the fire through the three-bedroom house, he said.
"When we got there it was absolutely ablaze."
As a precaution, the child was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation by St John Ambulance, he said.
The house was rented by its occupants, he said, who lost all their possessions. He was unaware if they had insurance.
"It's totally uninhabitable, the people in the house lost everything."
Fire safety were investigating the scene this morning; however, it appeared the fire began in either the kitchen or dining area.
Of concern to the fire service was the fact the house was not equipped with smoke alarms.
"Smoke alarms are a great early warning device and if they had those they also may have been able to take some possessions."
However, he was proud of the occupants' actions in "getting out and staying out".
"They all got out and went across the road to safety."
It took firefighters about 20 minutes to get the blaze under control; however, they remained at the scene, dampening down hot spots for another 90 minutes, he said.
- Belinda Feek of the New Zealand Herald
