Man injured after jumping from second storey to escape New Plymouth house fire

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A house ablaze on Huatoki St, New Plymouth, this morning.

A man was badly burnt and suffered serious injuries after leaping from the second storey of his New Plymouth house to escape a fire.

The fire brigade was alerted to the blaze at the Huatoki St address about 2.30am on Wednesday.

Senior station officer Steve Dombroski said the second storey of the house was well alight when firefighters arrived.

"He was woken when the fire was well involved," Dombroski said.

The man was unable to get out of the burning building, which didn't have working smoke alarms, and went to another bedroom where he jumped out of the window and fell several metres to the ground, he said.

"He's lucky to get out alive. Everything was lost in that part of the building."

A couple living in the downstairs basement flat escaped unharmed.  

Dombroski said the man who suffered serious injuries from the fall and was badly burnt by the flames, was treated by paramedics before being taken to hospital by St John ambulance.

Downstairs tenant Ryan Watson said he was woken by the man's screams and the sound of smashing glass.

"I just heard heaps of banging and glass smashing upstairs and heard our neighbour yelling get out, get out," Watson said.

"We are pretty sure he jumped through the window and then started yelling to us to get out, get out."

Watson, who has lived at the address for about seven months, initially didn't know what was happening but after looking out of his kitchen window and seeing the lawn lit up in a fluorescent red colour he knew it was a fire.

He then grabbed his girlfriend and got out.

Watson said they helped their neighbour up the steep driveway as flames engulfed the entire upstairs section of the house.

Fire safety officers and New Plymouth CIB detectives returned to the scene about mid-morning on Wednesday.

The roof had collapsed over one area of the building which had been razed by the blaze with nothing but charred timber framing left.

Nearby trees were scorched by the flames and twisted gutter spouting lay on a blackened veranda in front of the house.

Firefighters were at the scene for about two and a half hours and a police guard remained at the house until fire investigators could attend.

Dombroski said the cause of the fire was unknown at this stage.

 - Stuff