Woman killed in Christchurch house fire

Friday, 15 November 2019

A woman died and two people, including a young child, suffered minor injuries in the fire.

A male and a young child were able to escape a house fire that killed a woman in Christchurch overnight.

Emergency services were called to a two-storey house on Gosport St in Aranui about 2.15am on Friday.

Police and Fire and Emergency New Zealand are investigating the blaze.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) Christchurch metro area commander Dave Stackhouse said firefighters found a person dead inside the house. A male and a young child escaped the fire. The deceased person is understood to be a woman.

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The fire happened at a home on Gosport St in Aranui, Christchurch, early Friday.

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The house was fitted with working smoke alarms, which alerted one of the occupants to the blaze.

'The thoughts of Fire and Emergency New Zealand are with the family at this tragic time,' he said.

An iwi liaison officer is supporting the family.

A St John spokesman said two people were taken to Christchurch Hospital with minor injuries.

Neighbour Lois Howarth told RNZ she woke to someone yelling 'help', then heard a loud bang and saw flames 'roaring out the kitchen window'.

'It banged when the kitchen started burning – 'bang' – gee it was loud. It's the worst fire I've ever seen.'

She told RNZ two adults and two children had lived next door for about 18 months.

Fenz shift manager Brent Dunn said a multi-agency briefing was held on Friday morning and the Fenz command unit was at the scene.

Cordons and scene guards were in place in the area. All of Gosport St was closed, from Breezes Rd to Aldershot St.

A police spokeswoman said they could not comment further at this stage, but a fire investigator was at the house to determine the cause of the blaze.

The fire happened at a home owned by Kāinga Ora (formerly Housing New Zealand).

Kāinga Ora area manager Fraser Benson said the agency extended its sympathies to the family for their loss.

'We will provide support for the family during this time including finding alternative housing and any other assistance they may need,' he said in a statement.

'We work closely with the relevant authorities such as FENZ and the police who take the lead in terms of any investigation that needs to take place.'