An exploding cellphone has sparked an emergency call out in Christchurch.

Officers were called to Odyssey House in Papanui just after 10 am.

Harewood Station Manager Brian Lewis says the Samsung phone was inside a woman's handbag when it caught on fire and set off the smoke alarms.

"Had it not be monitored or in a building with a smoke alarm, had it have been at someone's house or even in a car, I'm sure the results would be far more extensive."

He says it was a Samsung S4 or S5 - but it was hard to tell which exactly afterwards.

"It was quite a mess I can assure you.

"Not so much the building, they got it out quickly, it was contained in the handbag, but it certainly destroyed the handbag.

"The phone is unrecognisable."

Samsung had to recall its Galaxy Note 7 in 2016 after batteries caught fire resulting in 26 reports of burns and 55 reports of property damage.