A family in Waikouaiti are without a home after a serious fire this morning.
Waikouaiti Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer David McLeod said 20 firefighters from three stations - Waitati, Palmerston, Waikouaiti - were called to the property in Geelong St from 7.25am.
The rear half of the single-level dwelling in East Otago was burning fast when the first crew arrived, Mr McLeod said.
The house had working smoke alarms and the family inside had evacuated, uninjured, by the time firefighters arrived.
"They did well, they got out and stayed out and shut the doors on the way out.''
Crews, some wearing breathing apparatus, had the blaze "under control'' in about 20 minutes.
When the fire was extinguished, the house remained standing but appeared to be "unliveable'' with extensive damage smoke and fire damage, Mr McLeod said.
A Fire Service spokesman said fire investigator Gordon Bootten would examine the house today.
A police spokeswoman said officers attended, but the fire was not being treated as suspicious.
