One person has died in a house fire in the central North Island settlement of Utiku.
Volunteer firefighters arrived at the property in the township, south of Taihape, just after 11pm on Saturday.
They say the fire was already very intense and took 28 officers to bring under control.
The Fire Service believes one other person escaped the blaze.
Police officers will join fire safety investigators to establish the cause of the fire.
A police officer has guarded the site overnight.
