'Massive boom': Large explosions heard as house goes up in flames

The neighbour of a man who escaped a house fire in Christchurch on Tuesday morning recalls hearing a "large boom" as the two-storey structure went up in flames.

The house fire on Clotilda Place in Bishopdale was reported to Fire and Emergency NZ at 9.28am on Tuesday.

Emergency services, including two crews and appliances from the Ilam and Redwood stations, arrived to find the house "well involved" in flames.

More crews from the Christchurch City station were then called in to help.

Simonne Hamman, who lives two sections down, said her kitchen window looks directly onto the man's property.

"I was just cooking a late breakfast and then I heard this massive boom," she said.

"Then I look out the window and this massive fire just erupts from his garage and billows of black smoke in to the air.

"So I just yelled to my family: 'Fire!' Poor things thought the fire was in our house."

Hamman then ran down the driveway and called emergency services, who had already been alerted.

When the first fire crew arrived at the scene, they needed help to "get the hoses out".

"I helped pull the hoses out in my sandals.

"They needed help so they could connect it to the fire hydrant.

"It was just the two of them who just happened to be driving past."

The man who was "hard of hearing" managed to escape his home that was engulfed in flames, Hamman said.

"He didn't hear the explosion and wasn't aware that the fire was going on until his neighbours alerted him.

"They got him out okay and he had a friend with him and managed to get his dog out.

"He's got a peacock, I haven't seen the peacock come out yet, but I'm sure the peacock is fine.

Upset and shaken, the man tried to "hurry" firefighting efforts up.

"They have their processes and have to do things methodically.

"The police came to calm him down."

Another three firefighting crews then converged on the cul-de-sac.

The man did not require any medical attention.

By early Tuesday afternoon, one Fire and Emergency crew and two fire investigators were at the scene.

Another neighbour told Stuff she heard about four explosions coming from the property on Tuesday.

“I looked out the window and screamed for my husband, we immediately ran outside and grabbed our garden hose," she told Stuff.

The woman said the owner of the house kept running back in to retrieve items from the flames.

“People had to hold him back.”

“It’s tragic, we’re a really tight-knit community in this neighbourhood and we’re really feeling for the guy.”

It is understood the property contained a boat, van, car and motorscooter, Stuff reported.

Black smoke from the fire can be seen billowing over the city from as far away as Cashmere and the Port Hills.

A fire investigator has been called in to determine the cause of the blaze.

A police spokesperson said Clotilda Place was blocked from Murmont St. Members of the public were advised to avoid the area if possible.

-Adam Burns of RNZ and Star News