The cause of a fire that caused significant damage to a Tauranga home last night is under investigation.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) shift manager Lauren Sika said fire crews and support vehicles from Tauranga, Greerton and Mount Maunganui stations attended the single-storey house fire in Pennington Place, Welcome Bay.

The blaze measured about 8m by 10m.

Sika told the Bay of Plenty Times Fenz received multiple 111 calls shortly before 9pm and the house was “well ablaze” when the first fire crew arrived at 9.04 pm.

She said the fire was out by 9.46pm, and firefighters stayed to dampen down hotspots.

Sika said a fire investigator visited the property earlier today and inquiries were ongoing.

It was not known whether anyone was inside the house when the fire started, she said.

A police spokeswoman earlier said a person had been arrested following a report of an alleged assault after a fire broke out at a Pennington Place property on Wednesday night.

A woman was taken to Tauranga Hospital in a serious condition.

Sandra Conchie is a senior journalist at the Bay of Plenty Times and Rotorua Daily Post who has been a journalist for 24 years. She mainly covers police, court and other justice stories, as well as general news. She has been a Canon Media Awards regional/community reporter of the year.