Dramatic images show the extent of a blaze that left one person dead at a Christchurch boarding house.
A man who lives in a sleepout on the property said he saw the house go up in flames in just three minutes.
Firefighters were called to the house on Shaw Ave, in the suburb of New Brighton, about 5.45am on Monday.
“Then I got out and I saw the fire and it was huge. I was concerned because we have a flatmate in that room and we couldn’t reach him.
“We have another one in the left side of the house and he didn’t realise, he was walking when I knocked on the window and I said ‘get out, get out’.
“In three minutes, the house was a mess.”
Souza said he tried to help and check if everyone was OK, but the fire was “very fast”.
“[There’s] no time, you don’t think in this kind of situation.”
Souza said the house was split into different parts. A family lived in the front and four people flatted in the back. Souza lived in a sleepout.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman Brent Dunn said the one-storey house was “well ablaze” when firefighters arrived.
Police said officers and firefighters were examining the scene to determine the cause of the blaze.
Cordons are in place around the property.
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