A family whose home burned down on Friday were at parent-teacher interviews when their Porirua home suddenly went up in flames.

Horrified onlookers - including two of the children whose home it was - watched as the house, which was visible from the school, was devoured by the fire in a matter of minutes.

Now Natone Park School’s principal, Daryl Aim, has set up a Givealittle to help the family of six, who have lost everything but the clothes on their backs.

The home was destroyed in minutes. Photo / Supplied

“It would have been 2pm, the parents from that home were up at school at their parent-teacher conferences, then somebody says there’s a fire at a house down the back,” said Aim.

 “We all whipped around the back and we literally stood there and just watched the house burn. It was just well ablaze, flames were shooting up through the roof.”

The mother came running out of the school, took one look at the house and rushed to her car and headed to the scene he said.

Meanwhile, her two youngest children, 7 and 10, stood with the gathered crowd at the school and watched the disaster unfold.

“The youngest was seven, she was clearly, visibly upset,” Aim said.

 “They were just watching their home burn to the ground. Lots of hugs and support for the kids, but still, it’s gone. Everything’s gone.”

From the time everyone rushed out to watch the fire, it took about four minutes for the house to be completely ruined, he said.

The children watched from school as their home burned down. Photo / Supplied

The fire also happened about 10 minutes after the parents arrived at the school for the conference.

Aim said the fire appeared to have been caused by an electrical fault.

“Neighbours had seen the sparking in the wall from their house . . . they had seen the sparking and then, just, whomp, up it went.

“The fire was just something else.”

Aim said the family were “in shock” and had been staying temporarily with another family, meaning there were 14 people crammed into a three-bedroom home.

People have been coming into the school with donations this morning, and others have been offering furniture and clothing.

Aim said the Porirua community was “amazing” and was “rallying around to help them rebuild their lives”.

At the time of publishing, the Givealittle page had raised $1800.

Melissa Nightingale is a Wellington-based reporter who covers crime, justice, and news in the capital. She joined the Herald in 2016 and has worked as a journalist for 10 years.