Initial investigations have found a toaster was the cause of a fire that gutted a Papamoa Beach Road home at about 5.45pm on Monday night.
Papamoa deputy fire chief Brent Sanford says when his team of eight fire fighters arrived at the house a large part of it was engulfed in flames.

The fire which burned in Papamoa on Monday night.

He says they received reports from neighbours that a person was trapped inside the house and they spent about five minutes searching it for her. The woman was safe, however, and came home soon after fire fighters arrived.
Brent says they could see black smoke billowing from the house as they left the fire station 1km away.  
“There was lots of smoke and lots of flames. We were just trying to get in and find out where the fire was.”
He says they quickly established the source of the fire was in the kitchen area.
Tauranga fire safety officer Ken McKeagg says a large portion of the house was destroyed and it will be uninhabitable for at least two months.
He says a woman was living at the house with her partner.
“We are still looking into the cause but at the moment we are looking heavily at the toaster, but we are still working the finer details.”