Explosion spreads fire

A fire which ripped through a West Auckland home started when a child threw something into a fireplace, sparking an explosion. Kanta Craig said her 5-year-old nephew put something into the fire which blew up and spread flames through the house in Massey, about 9.30am yesterday. Henderson senior station officer Steve Callagher said the occupants, a woman and a child, were surprised by the scale of the fire. ‘‘But they escaped and they are OK. We prevented the fire from spreading to neighbouring houses, which is about all we could do.’’