A-month-old baby boy and his mother were taken to Tauranga Hospital for observation following a house fire at Paengaroa overnight.

The fire was spotted by a passing motorist on State Highway 2 about 7pm, says Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade station officer Ivon Pilcher.

The fire broke out in a room in the Paengaroa home.

'There was a one-month-old baby taken to hospital with possible smoke inhalation, and an adult female was taken as well,” says Ivon.

They were in another part of the house with the door closed when the fire started in a bedroom. There didn't appear to be any smoke alarms in the house, says Ivon.

'Certainly a motorist saw it and came to the aid of the people,” says Ivon.

'A small light on an altar, a shrine if you like, has shorted out and set light to some clothing and at that point it went up the wall and into the ceiling.

'It was a good save from the boys. They put the fire out quickly and saved a lot of potential damage.”

Firefighters from Te Puke and Pukehina spent about an hour at the scene.

The baby was treated at Tauranga Hospital and discharged, says a Tauranga Hospital spokesperson.

The other Te Puke volunteer crew with Maketu volunteer fire firefighters and a water tanker were fighting a shelterbelt fire on SH33 at Paengaroa when the alarm was raised for the house fire.

About 100 metres of shelterbelt caught fire at the end of the Paengaroa straight about 6pm.