Fire chiefs say they're "99 per cent sure" no one was inside a large house fire in Fernhill, Queenstown, this afternoon.
Queenstown firefighters wearing breathing equipment entered two houses on Aspen Grove after reports two people were trapped.
But Queenstown station officer Dave Christie says everyone is now accounted for.
The blaze, which began in one house and spread to another, has been extinguished but crews remain on the scene dampening down.
Emergency services were called to Aspen Grove, Fernhill, just after 1.15pm today.
Twenty-four firefighters, with four appliances from Queenstown and Frankton, tackled the fire.
Six firefighters in breathing apparatus searched the properties. St John's ambulances and police were on scene.
The two houses have been extensively damaged. One caught fire but it spread before firefighters could get their hoses working.
The house close behind it caught fire and the blaze shifted to the nearby scrub, threatening to spread down a side lane.
The heat of the blaze caused the windows of an adjacent house to explode.
It is not known what caused the fire.
- by Paul Taylor
