A house in Kaponga was destroyed by fire late on Friday night.
Fire services attended the fire at 11pm on Friday after someone in a neighbouring property called 111.
The owner of the house was out and had only bought it six weeks ago.
Close friend Gary Anderson says the woman had been renting the house for some years before purchasing it.
"It was just lucky she was out at the time, but she has lost everything in the fire." In her early 30s, the owner lived there with a flatmate who was away up north on holiday at the time of the fire. Her mother visited the scene of the fire on Saturday morning, taking pictures to send to her daughter.