Firefighters who saved a Maungatapu house from burning to the ground early Sunday morning, are receiving high praise from a fire risk manager.

Luke Burgess says he has found the cause of the fire which drove a family of five from their beds.

'They [firefighters] have done an amazing job. I can't speak highly enough of the guys who responded to that call,” says the specialist investigator.

'They have done an absolutely fantastic job. It was top notch firefighting, very, very impressive firefighting skills.

'They did incredibly well to save that property. The crews deserve a pat on the back for the job they did alright.”

The family noticed the fire in their Te Hono Street home about 12.30am, when a fire in the garage close to the house was spreading into the main building.

Three trucks initially attended but more were called in to provide more breathing apparatus for the firefighters on the ground.

'Four crews, eight men working in BA were able to stop the fire in the roof void, because we were able to make entry though the house and hold the fire from spreading from the garage,” says Tauranga senior station officer Mark Keller on Sunday.

'Then the worst bit was because it was going everywhere. It was a two storey place, the lower section of roof went right round the structure and the fire was breaking out through the interior walls upstairs. So we had a crew upstairs, and we had a crew at the garage and then two crews working the roof area.

'So it was pretty busy there for a while but we were able to stop it pretty much – apart from the damage in the roof – we were able to stop it pretty much where it was when we got there, so that's always a plus.”

The garage was destroyed, but structural damage to the house was kept to about 20 per cent says Mark.

The family is staying in alternative accommodation.

Following an investigation on Sunday, Luke says an electrical fault is believed to be the cause. And he's recommending smoke alarms be installed in garages.

'To get that early warning is what you are after, particularly for an internal access garage. The smoke alarms in the house hadn't activated.

'If he had smoke alarms in the garage it would have been close enough for him to hear it.”