Police are working to establish the cause of a fatal sleepout fire at a South Auckland property. Video \ Anna Heath
A 68-year-old woman still grieving the recent death of her husband says she is “upset” and “terrified” after a fire broke out in her house claiming the life of a guest.
Subhag Wati Chandra was in Fiji when she found out part of her Tāmaki Ave home in Ōtāhuhu hadbeen destroyed and someone died in the blaze.
Emergency services were called to the property about 9pm on March 4 and found one person dead inside the garage, which had been used as a sleepout or “studio”.
Home owner Subhag Wati Chandra was informed about the fatal fire at her home while she was overseas. Photo / Anna Heath
Chandra said the person was a woman she didn’t know well who was staying at her home while she was away.
Police investigating the fire determined there are “no suspicious circumstances”. A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said on Wednesday “the report into the cause of the fire has not yet been completed”.
Chandra said she was informed by her sister-in-law about the incident.
“She said, ‘Subhag, this is your house?’ I said, ‘Oh my God, what’s wrong?’”
When she realised what had happened, she “started yelling”.
It was all the more upsetting after the death of her husband Roger in September last year at the age of 83.
One person was found dead inside a sleepout at the Ōtāhuhu property. Photo / Anna Heath
“I’m so upset because I lost everything,” she said. “I lost my husband and I lost everything in the studio.
“I’m still grieving for him … I did everything for him. I looked after him in bed. So it’s too painful for me. When I pass the place [of his] funeral, I can’t talk properly. I always think about it.”
Chandra said she had a “terrible feeling” when she first arrived home from her trip.
“Straight away I just went [into] the garage … Oh my God, I was just yelling. I was very terrified.”
The cause of the fatal fire at an Ōtāhuhu property is still unknown. Photo / Anna Heath
Chandra, who lived alone after her husband died, said she reluctantly agreed to let the woman stay with her in the garage-turned-studio accommodation at the rear of her property.
She said the woman stayed for one week before begging to stay with her again.
Chandra agreed, thinking the woman would be helpful while she was overseas.
“She [would] just come and go. One week she stayed … and then [the] second week she went to [a] friend’s place.
“She begged me … to come again. I just gave [her] a chance because I was going to Fiji.
