Smoke from the blaze drifts across the suburb. Photo: Supplied / Shay Vaseneva
Firefighters are investigating the cause of a massive house fire in the Wellington suburb of Newtown overnight.
The fire on Mansfield Street broke at about 11.40pm on Thursday and could not be contained until about 2.30am on Friday. The building has been extensively damaged.
It was initially unclear whether anyone was inside the two-storied property. Once firefighters were able to enter the building, Fire and Emergency (FENZ) assistant commander Steve Hudson said a primary search did not reveal anyone inside.
Three neighbouring properties were evacuated and Mansfield Street was closed. A FENZ spokesperson said the road was reopened by 4.20am and the evacuated residents allowed to return home.
The house that went up in flames in the Wellington suburb of Newtown Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
Two crews of firefighters remained on standby at the scene on Friday morning, after some were released from about 3am - as operations began to scale back.
At the height of the blaze, six fire trucks, an aerial appliance, a command unit and a breathing apparatus tender for decontamination were in attendance.
Hudson said an investigation would be carried out to establish the origin and cause of the fire.
On social media, some users reported smelling smoke inside Wellington Hospital and as far away as Te Aro.
FENZ advised anyone affected by the smoke to keep their doors and windows closed, and stay inside.
Firefighters are battling a massive blaze at a Newtown house. Photo: Supplied / Shay Vaseneva
Earlier, at 1am, shift manager Chris Dalton said the fire was "pretty bad" and still had not been contained.
Firefighters were working to stop the flames from spreading when RNZ spoke to him.
"That's what we're working on now," he said, noting many of the houses in the area were older structures.
"It's an area where lots of houses are all built next to each other."
It was not immediately clear at that time whether anyone was inside the building, Dalton said.
Newtown resident Shay Vaseneva said she could see firefighters putting up caution tape around Mansfield Street at about 12.30am.
"The house is in flames, there's no doubt, with quite a few fire trucks and police cars. It looked like they were making sure the fire doesn't spread to the neighbours, obviously it must be unsafe inside," they said.
The smoke and smell were "pretty bad down the street from the house".
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
