Russell Thomlinson rushed his wife and children out of his parents' house and called 111 after he noticed the smell and smoke coming from near the chimney.
Station Officer Dave Little said by the time appliances arrived the fire had started to spread from the chimney into the ceiling.
"It's lucky he [Mr Thomlinson] got the call away when he did.
"We were able to make it here quickly and get things into place before it became a full-on house fire," he said.
The house belongs to Kenneth and Margaret Thomlinson - former Wanaka secondary school teachers.
The pair, who are lifelong residents of Wanaka, were not home yesterday.
Mr Thomlinson said there were no smoke detectors in the living room, where the blaze started, and he was thankful someone was home to notice the fire.
The property is insured.
A small fire in a garden shed caused minimum damage on a Dalmeny St, Oamaru, property yesterday.
The Oamaru Fire Brigade sent one unit and four firefighters to the fire about 11am.
The fire started when the property owners were burning off weeds.
