A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokeswoman said crews were alerted to the blaze, in Glendevon Place, about 9.05am.
Three crews from St Kilda, Lookout Point and Dunedin Stations responded.
The last crew departed just after 11am and a fire investigator was at the scene.
Station Officer Calvin Harradine, of St Kilda station, described the fire as "lucky" and said the incident served as a reminder about the importance of having working smoke alarms.
Four people got out and the house was damaged, but not too extensively, SO Harradine said.
The fire started in the kitchen. It was not clear how, but it was not considered suspicious.
It was fortunate crews had fully operational and fully crewed appliances so they could arrive quickly and get a good result, he said.
This morning's fire follows one which badly damaged a house in Helena St in South Dunedin yesterday evening.
