Firefighters and police on Monday night attended a large fire in Island Bay, Wellington, which damaged two homes and a garage.
The blaze on High Street was reported at 6.50pm on Monday. Ten Fire and Emergency (FENZ) crews were initially dispatched.
Video posted to social media showed at least one home well alight and smoke billowing across the area.
The fire was well-involved when fire crews arrived. Photo: Zen Yates-Fill / RNZ
"Conditions are very windy, and firefighters are working on the Esplanade as well as on High Street," FENZ told RNZ.
"People are asked to stay well away from the area. Residents affected by smoke should close doors and windows to avoid exposure."
Smoke from the fire was sent billowing across the suburb in the windy conditions. Photo: Kate Pereyra / RNZ
Shortly before 11pm, FENZ said the fire had been successfully contained.
The cause was yet to be determined, but it was believed to have started in a garage before spreading to the house.
"Fire and Emergency will remain at the site overnight because of the windy conditions, to monitor and deal with any hotspots or flare ups," a spokesperson said.
Ten fire crews were originally sent to Island Bay when the fire was first reported. Photo: Zen Yates-Fill / RNZ
Witness Zen Yates-Fill told RNZ they were at their parents' house across the road from the fire when someone knocked on their door, asking for a fire extinguisher.
"I came outside, saw that the fire had fully engulfed the garage by that stage, so realised that… a fire extinguisher was not going to do anything to sort of mitigate the fire at all."
Crews showed up very quickly, they said, but not before the wind blew the flames onto a neighbouring property.
Firefighters at the scene of the fire in Island Bay. Photo: Zen Yates-Fill / RNZ
"They managed to douse that down. But unfortunately, the main house that the garage was connected to was fully engulfed in flames by that time.
"But the fire department did a fantastic job in sort of patting down the flames, and now just sort of going through the process of dampening it all down."
They believed the house most affected by the fire had been "completely gutted".
FENZ said nearby vegetation was also briefly set alight, but that had been extinguished.
"People in Island Bay are asked to avoid High St and the Esplanade, because there is considerable congestion in surrounding streets," incident controller Mike Dombroski said earlier on Monday night.
Crews would be at the scene for "quite some time", he said.
"At present the wind is blowing most of the smoke out to sea, but people in the area should keep doors and windows shut and stay inside to avoid exposure to any contaminants."
Wellington Free Ambulance told RNZ it attended the fire, but no one was hurt.
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