A former firefighter's quick thinking when a magnifying mirror set a curtain on fire had him dousing a smokey drape before fire services arrived.

A fire at a Roy St house at about 9am today was promptly put out by house owner and former Milson fire station senior officer Joe Rush.

The fire started after a small round cosmetic mirror, which has concave glass, hit the sun at the exact angle for it to reflect onto a nearby curtain and sear a hole in it.

Mr Rush smelled smoke and found the mirror, which was on a table about one metre away, burning his drapes.

He pulled it down and quelled the small blaze with dry powder from an extinguisher and then called fire services to check for further damages.

Milson fire station officer Mark Cooper said it was an ''unusual'' occurrence.

''It's amazing that the focal point of the window hit the mirror on that exact angle and with the heat of the sun ended up starting a fire.''

Mr Rush retired in 2011 after more than 50 years' service and Mr Cooper commended his former boss's response to the fire.

''It was a bit of quick thinking and expert knowledge for him to deduce what the cause was and deal with it so quickly.''

- © Fairfax NZ News

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