Firefighters struggled with limited water supplies as they battled in vain to save a rural Canterbury homestead from a massive fire.
The occupants of the house on Oxford Rd near Cust, about 40km northwest of Christchurch, escaped unharmed after they were woken by a smoke alarm about 1.15am today. (Sunday)
Firefighters were unable to save the large two-storey house despite a four-hour effort to bring the blaze under control.
Fire Service southern communications shift manager Andrew Norris said access to water became a major issue as fire crews from Cust, Oxford and Rangiora battled the blaze.
"They got water tankers in from all the surrounding stations to relay water from about 3km away,'' he said.
The house was gutted by the time the fire was brought under control.
The fire was not considered suspicious.
Mr Norris said it was a classic case of the occupants' lives being saved by installing a smoke alarm.
