A fire that gutted the bedroom of an Otumoetai home and left one man in hospital was accidentally started by a pre-schooler playing with a lighter, say firefighters.

The fire damaged the bedroom of the Otumoetai home on Saturday.

Two pre-school aged boys and a man, believed to be the father of one of the boys, were home when the fire started inside the bedroom of a Ngatai Road home at 4pm on Saturday.

Tauranga Fire Brigade senior station officer Mark Keller says a boy ignited a bed while using a cigarette lighter.

'There was a lighter left lying around and the child picked it up and then went into the bedroom and set fire to the bed.”

Mark says the fire badly damaged the bedroom and spread into the hallway, but firefighters arrived before the flames extended to other areas of the house. He says there were no smoke alarms sounding when firefighters arrived.

'The doors were left open so the fire spread into the hallway and part of the hallway was badly damaged.

'There was a bit of smoke damage through the rest of house but the bulk of the damage was to the bedroom and extended out into the hallway.”

The man managed to remove both boys from the house, but suffered smoke inhalation and was taken to Tauranga Hospital, says Mark.

'When we got there the father had the two boys out by the gateway, he pointed to where the fire was and was able to tell me straight away that everybody was out and that always a big relief.”

Two fire appliances and St John Ambulance attended the fire following a call from a neighbour who saw smoke billowing from the home.

The neighbour, who did not wish to be named, saw the man bring the children outside before he disappeared back inside.

'The two kids were outside, then he went back inside and I think he got a bit overcome by the smoke. He was coughing.

'The whole place was just overcome with smoke. It was coming out through all the tiles on the roof.”

The neighbour has lived in the area for about 25 years and did not know the man personally, but believes he may have been renting the property directly opposite his.

No-one was at home when SunLive visited the property this afternoon, but the neighbour says someone had been by to pick up some 'bits and pieces”.

The incident is a timely reminder to Bay of Plenty residents to be careful where they leave their cigarette lighters, says Mark.

'It's just kind of a responsibility that if you're using smoking materials cigarettes, or whatever, to be really aware that kids are really quick to pick up lighters and they see them as a toy.

'In the very first place it's because adults usually leave them lying around where a child can access them and effectively those situations can very quickly turn life threatening.”

Mark says closing doors to the fire can help contain the flames.

'But the big message is just get outside. The important thing is to save lives.”