A man was asleep as his house burned only escaped after being woken by the sound of his door breaking.
The fire-damaged Freemans Bay home. Photo: RNZ / Carla Penman
Firefighters were called to the house in England Street in the Auckland suburb of Freemans Bay just before 11am.
Five flatmates share the single-storey house, and four were at work. However, one was asleep and was awoken by the heat and flames breaking his door.
He tried to fight the flames with a garden hose before firefighters arrived.
A firefighter said it was suspected a cigarette could have sparked the blaze.
