A body has been found following a house fire near Tauranga
Firefighters were called to the blaze on Bramley Drive in Omokoroa around 4.30am. Photo: Google Maps
Firefighters were called to the blaze on Bramley Drive in Omokoroa around 4.30am.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand shift manager Paul Radden said a body was found inside the house.
He said it was well ablaze when firefighters from Tauranga, Greerton, and Katikati arrived at the scene.
A neighbour who called 111 after seeing flames coming from the house says he and his wife were woken by the sound of the fire and breaking glass.
"It was ferocious. My wife called the fire brigade at 4.26am but I believe the fire would have been going for about 10-15 minutes before that.
"It's a double storey building and there is was no way we could get near it to see if we could help."
The witness says the flames were pouring from the windows of the house.
"Our bedroom is on that side, so we could see everything. The fire guys did an amazing job."
He says they just went straight in and got to work getting the fire under control.
"It took ages to get under control, we could see one firefighter hacking into a wardrobe and the flames were just pouring out from the joins in the tiles. It's amazing what those guys do."
Crews are still at the scene dampening down hot spots.
The cause of the fire is being investigated.
- SunLive
