Two-storey house gutted by fire in Whangateau, north Auckland

What happened

A house fire on Rodney Road, Whangateau, north of Auckland broke out around 2pm on Sunday. Someone on a boat first spotted the blaze and called Fire and Emergency New Zealand. Crews arrived to find the two-storey house well involved in flames with its roof badly damaged, and thick black smoke billowing above the tree-covered hillside. A second alarm was raised to bring in additional resources, with five fire engines and two water tankers responding. A helicopter was also deployed to drop water. Neighbour Angie Harvey said she was worried about those nearby, while witness Sasha Murray, who spotted the fire from her boat at Ti Point around 1.40pm, watched it worsen over the next hour and a half. Police were involved only in traffic management.

Key facts

• Fire reported at 2pm on Rodney Road, Whangateau
• Two-storey house well involved in flames with roof badly damaged
• Five fire engines and two water tankers deployed
• Blaze first spotted by someone on a boat

Covered byStuffNZ Herald1NewsNot covered byRNZNewstalk ZBOtago Daily TimesNewsroomThe SpinoffBusinessDeskinterest.co.nz

Coverage across the news outlets we track, as at publication.

Where the outlets differ

1News reports a helicopter's involvement with water buckets and quotes a worried neighbour and the witness who spotted the fire; the Herald and Stuff focus on the initial alert from the boatie and the emergency response scale without mentioning aerial support or neighbour reaction.

What outlets are saying