Fire and Emergency New Zealand crews were called to Tukapa St, Hurdon, around 6am on Tuesday.
Smoke alarms saved a man’s life when his New Plymouth home caught fire on Tuesday morning.
After being woken by the alarms, the man, who was home alone at the time, escaped his burning house and ran to his neighbour’s to phone for help around 6am, fire investigator Matt Crabtree said.
When crews arrived they could see flames leaping from the upper storey bedroom area of the Tukapa St home.
“If he hadn’t had smoke alarms, we would have lost a life,” Crabtree said.