Children playing with matches sparked a fire in a garage in 21st Avenue overnight which destroyed the contents and threatened to spread to other properties.

The garage was well alight when firefighters arrived about 6pm, says Mount Maunganui Fire Brigade station officer Neil Brown.

The remains of the garage that caught fire in 21st Ave overnight.

'There were gas cylinders reported to be in the shed, which turned out to be true,” says Neil.

'It set a fence on fire along the boundary as well, so we had to protect the exposures to make sure the fire didn't spread to other properties.”

The Tauranga Brigade was turned out first but the caller was some distance from what was at first thought to be a rubbish fire, and mistook the location, says Neil.

There were no vehicles in the garage, just a lot of possessions.

'Make sure lighters and matches are kept out of reach of children,” says Neil.