A person has been taken to hospital with a dog bite after fire broke out in a “property of interest” while police were conducting inquiries this morning.

Police and firefighters remain at a West Auckland home after residents watched it explode into flames this morning.

Emergency services rushed to the Colwill Rd property after residents awoke to a massive blaze.

Video footage shows a wall of flames erupting from the suburban property as fire engulfs the two-storey home.

A police spokesperson said they were at the house when fire took hold around 5.24am.

Firefighters brought the blaze under control however one person suffered a dog bite injury and was taken to hospital.

Hato Hone St John said the person was assessed at the scene by the crew and taken to Waitakere Hospital in a moderate condition.

Residents on the street reported seeing police and the Armed Offenders Squad in the area before the house “exploded” with flames shooting high above the single-storey residence.

One resident, who asked not to be named, told the Herald he woke up to the sound of the fire exploding.

Police officers undergoing decontamination treatment on Colwill Rd in Massey this morning, following a house fire.

“[I] woke up to explosions followed by police dogs barking, police yelling at someone to get on the ground.

“I could hear it so clearly as it echoed from my backyard.

“[It was] like watching a movie unfold. My dog woke us up to the commotion.”

The house is gutted after an early morning blaze on Colwill Rd, Massey.

He said it was a “bit of a shock to wake up to” and he hoped no one was hurt.

Another local said they saw “cops with guns” on Royal Rd when she drove past.

Armed police were on Colwill Rd in Massey after a fire destroyed a home.

A woman who lives across from the home happened to wake up just before the chaos.

“My daughter woke me up because she’s a newborn baby.”

The woman could see police filing down the driveway.

“We woke up to the police coming down the driveway, right? And then next minute we see them running around the house. And then we see the house on fire. It just blew up. It was loud.”

She said there was also a fire at the house last week.

“My mum came over last week, and they had a little fire and my mum rung the fire brigade and sent them over there.“

“They contained that fire real quick. My mum was like, ‘Something is not right over there…‘ she told us be careful.”

She said there had previously been a police presence at the home in the past.

She described the flames from the blaze travelling very high into the sky.

The blackened ruins of the Colwill Rd property after it was destroyed in an early morning blaze.

The top of the street was cordoned off this morning.

Residents reported hearing a helicopter circling the skies above at the time of the blaze.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson said that firefighters were near the scene at a police meeting point when the fire broke out just before 5am.

At around 5.30am, a call for more Fire and Emergency resources was made as the upper level of the two-storey building became engulfed in flames.

Four crews and multiple support crews were sent from five brigades across Auckland.

Armed Offenders on Colwill Rd, Massey at the scene of a house fire.

There were no reports of injuries, the spokesperson said.

Fire brigades had the fire under control by 6.40am, but as of 7am, three crews were still at the scene, dampening hot spots.

With the fire now out, all that remains of the home is a blackened shell.

Police cordons were in place on Colwill Rd with armed police blocking access.

Police and firefighters remain at the property on Colwill Rd where a house erupted into fire earlier today.

The property that went up in flames was now being guarded by two police officers.

Water hoses connected to fire hydrants and fire trucks were sprawled along the driveway with a fire truck, police car and a police van remaining on Colwill Rd three hours after the blaze.

Police and St John Ambulance have been approached for comment.

Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.