A person has suffered severe burns in a South Auckland house fire this morning.
The fire was discovered around 6.15am in Ōtara.
The injured man, a wheelchair user, had been smoking in bed when the fire alarm went off, Papatoetoe Fire Station senior station officer Terry Jenner told 1 NEWS.
By the time the man was able to get out of the house, he had suffered burns to 45 per cent of his body.
"He did manage to get onto his wheelchair and get to the front door, and he was down onto the wheelchair access platform where the neighbours actually found them and then removed him out onto the street," Mr Jenner said.
The man has since been transported to Middlemore Hospital.
Fire and Emergency services say three fire engines were sent to the scene.
The fire is now mostly extinguished.
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