A resident of an Auckland property engulfed in a horror fire this morning, which claimed one life, has spoken about the moment the blaze broke out and the scramble to escape.

Fire and Emergency acting assistant commander Kenton Rusbridge confirmed that one person was found dead in the building.

“On arrival, the crews got straight to work to locate the person missing,” Rusbridge said.

“We’ve confirmed that there is one fatality that’s been located inside the building.”

Several others escaped the burning home.

The New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) said it has cancelled today’s planned strike following the fatal fire.

“We pay our respects to the family and community affected by this tragic loss of life,” the NZPFU said in a statement. “We also recognise the impact on those responding and will continue to work at the scene including the fire investigation team.”

Photos from the scene showed a villa ablaze on the corner of Symonds and Trafalgar Sts in Onehunga, with brown smoke billowing from the roof.

Crews working to extinguish the fire. Photo / Jason Dorday

Rusbridge said the house was a “mixed occupancy of unknown levels”, with one person unaccounted for on arrival.

Orini Johnson, one of the residents of the property who escaped the fire, said she “woke up to smoke”.

“I woke up to just my [other residents] screaming and banging on my door to come and get me out of here, to let me out of the house and we had to get out of the house,” she said.

“I could smell it burning. It was just paper and everything. It was engulfed.”

Johnson said six adults were at the property, including her landlord.

“Our landlord was home and he hasn’t come out yet.

“It’s his family home … It’s just really unbelievable.”

Police and Fire and Emergency are in attendance at the fire. Photo / Jason Dorday. 

Rusbridge said the fire was more “extreme” because of hoarding.

“The building was heavily fuel-loaded as a result of some hoarding, resulting in the extreme fire conditions found by the fire crews.

“I’d like to take this chance to remind everybody how critical it is to have tested working smoke alarms and to have a safe escape plan so you can get out of a fire when required.”

The fire is near Royal Oak Intermediate School. Photo / Anna Burnside 

Long-time friend of the man who died, Ron Gunson, told the Herald he was a funny and eccentric person.

“He was quite witty and intelligent, he had a really very, very, very good memory.”

Gunson heard the news this morning and travelled to the scene to see if it was his friend of 30 years who was then unaccounted for.

“My daughter showed me and I as soon as she showed me, I knew exactly it was their house ... we had a feeling something was going to happen to him after we spoke to him a few weeks ago for some reason.”

Gunson said he had hoped everyone would be unharmed.

“But then when they said one person was unaccounted for, we knew exactly who it would be.”

The last time Gunson saw him was a few weeks ago when he came to his house after he had just got out of hospital.

“He turned up with a bottle of whisky, small bottle of whisky, and he just stayed. He ended up staying the night and I dropped him off the next day, the next morning with a whole pile of food.”

The burnt house was a family-owned home which the man had lived in for decades, Gunson said.

Acting Detective Inspector Greg Brand said police were working to identify the dead person.

“The cause of the fire remains unexplained, and police are working closely with fire investigators.”

A scene examination will take place; however, police do not expect to be able to access the house until later today, Brand said.

Hato Hone St John said it was notified of the incident at 7.22am and assessed four people in a minor condition at the scene.

Three ambulances, two rapid response units and an operations manager responded.

Fire and Emergency shift manager Blair Walklin said crews received reports of the fire just before 7.20am.

Walklin said 12 fire trucks were in attendance from across the city.

Firefighters at the scene after a house fire in Onehunga. Photo / Jason Dorday

The blaze affected Royal Oak Intermediate School because of road closures in the area, he said.

Rusbridge said school buses were diverted “to make sure the children weren’t coming past the scene”.

The school refused to comment when approached by the Herald.

Students around the school being escorted. Photo / Jason Dorday 

Trafalgar St remains closed between Pleasant St and Forbes St, while Symonds St is closed to Aumoana Lane.

Police expect cordons to be in place for most of the day.

“Members of the public are advised to avoid the area while emergency services work at the scene,” a police spokesperson said.

An incident report shows crews from the Onehunga, Ellerslie, Mount Roskill, Balmoral, Auckland City and Ōtara stations attended the fire.