A large house fire in the Wellington suburb of Kelburn kept emergency services busy on Wednesday afternoon.
Neighbours described the moment they saw smoke and flames billowing from the back of the house on Raroa Rd.
Marcus Henry was home just after 2pm when builders on his property raised the alarm that smoke could be seen.
One of the builders entered a couple of metres through an unlocked back door but retreated because of the thick smoke.
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"This guy [the builder] got through the back door because it was unlocked so he started going in but he couldn't see anything. It was completely full of smoke. We called the fire brigade and kept the hoses on the fire but by the time the firefighters arrived it had gone into the roof space."
Henry said flames were also visible.
The owner of the house, Dame Margaret Sparrow, wasn't home at the time of the blaze but had been informed by fire service staff.
Assistant area commander Gareth Hughes said the fire, centred in a bedroom at the back of the house, was well-involved when crews arrived.
He said it was too soon to say whether the house could be salvaged and a cause was not yet known.
Ten fire trucks attended the blaze, as well as police and the Wellington Free Ambulance. No one had to be treated at the scene.