A Middlemarch Volunteer Fire Brigade fire appliance and water tanker were back in action at the town on Thursday night after a damaging house fire flared up again unexpectedly.
The house in Nottage St had been largely destroyed by an initial fire, which was earlier reported about 2.20pm.
Middlemarch Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer John Foote said that although evening conditions were calm, the fire had reignited in part of the house, near the corner of State Highway 87 in the Strath-Taieri town.
Firefighters were alerted about the flare-up shortly after 8pm, and used two fire hoses and breathing apparatus to knock out the fire.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman had earlier said that by 4.30pm, in the initial fire, the ''building was almost dashed... and crews were in salvage mode, damping down hotspots''.
Fire investigators were on the way, but ''could not speculate on the cause''.
At its peak, pumps and two tankers from Middlemarch, Ranfurly, Outram and Mosgiel battled the blaze, which was complicated by a strong wind and limited water supply.
The owner of a nearby dairy said the owner of the home on fire had entered her store to call emergency services.
No one was home at the time the fire started in the small holiday property, but the owner appeared ''very shaken'', she said.
