A 66-year-old man has been charged with arson after a house fire in Whangamatā overnight that two people narrowly escaped from. 

Shortly after 9 o’clock on Sunday night, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) received several reports regarding a fire in Hauturu St. 

Two persons are thought to have escaped the two-storey house, which was heavily damaged by fire. 

A police spokesperson said a 66-year-old man is due in the Hamilton District Court today on an arson charge. 

Fire and Emergency is treating the blaze as suspicious. 

Photos from social media show a house with yellow flames and plumes of smoke coming from it. 

A Fenz spokesperson said it took four firefighters less than 30 minutes to extinguish the fire. 

Four fire engines were dispatched to the scene, and the blaze is being treated as suspicious. 

Investigators are on the scene this morning. 

- NZ Herald