A house fire near Milton is now under control but the blaze has "almost half-destroyed" the building.
Fire crews were first called to the property, on the Manuka Gorge Highway (State Highway 8), near Glenore, before 3pm.
The single-storey 20mx20m dwelling was found to be "well-ablaze", a Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman said.
All the occupants were out of the house and safe and well, he said.
The homeowner was at the scene being comforted by friends.
At 5pm, a Fenz spokesman said the blaze was under control, but had "almost half-destroyed" the house.
A digger had been requested to remove roofing iron from the embers and allow further damping down to take place.
The spokesman confirmed there were no injuries resulting from the incident.
A fire investigation officer had been summoned to determine its cause.
Crews from Milton, Lawrence, Waitahuna and Balclutha attended.
