Dogs die in house blaze

Three pet dogs died in a fire that began in a basement and spread quickly to the upper rooms.
The blaze broke out in a Mt Wellington house on Tuesday at about 4.30am.
All of the occupants escaped but two people were injured, including one woman who had burns to her hands.

Deputy chief fire safety officer Jonathan Shelley says two people sleeping in a room next to the basement were lucky to get out.

Neighbour Karen Knight awoke to the sounds of the family yelling to get out of the house.
"We could see as soon as we got up that the basement was like an inferno," she says. MORE>>