Two people have died after a house fire in Bucklands Beach.
An investigation is now under way into how the events unfolded on Murvale Drive early this morning.
Three were injured in the fire, one seriously. The two-storey home has been left ruined.
Two of the three remain in hospital.
Detective Inspector Tofilau Faamanuia Va’aelua, of Counties Manukau CIB, said inquiries so far have established that there were five people in the house at the time of the blaze.
It was expected investigators would remain at the property over the coming days, he said.
“Our priority is on carefully extracting the two deceased from the scene, and from there a post-mortem examination will need to be carried out,” Va’aelua said.
“We are unable to release further information about those who have died as the formal identification process has not yet begun.”
The investigation will work to establish how the fire occurred.
“We appreciate the community will have questions about how this has occurred, and this will now be the focus for investigators.”
“Police will be speaking with nearby residents as part of inquiries, but we ask anyone with information to contact us.”
The road where the fire happened is a sleepy suburban street.
Since early this morning, residents have been confronted with police cordons and forensics teams.
There were more than half a dozen police cars still at the scene almost 15 hours on from the fatal blaze.
At least three Fire and Emergency vehicles are also at the scene.
Emergency servicemen have worked in spots of rain throughout the day.
Bystanders regularly came and went from the edge of the cordon to try and spot any action.
The same two constables have been standing guarding the scene all day.
Teams have broken for tea and food from the police ‘community hub’ van several times.
Forensic and fire investigators were still inside the property as of 4pm.
There was a blue forensic tent on the property’s front yard and an orange stretcher was lying on the front berm.
Residents were awoken to the horror scenes.
A man who filmed a property engulfed by fire said neighbours gathered outside, calling to others to evacuate.
He said mini “explosions”, cracking and popping noises rang out across Murvale Drive after the fire broke out at 2.30am.
The video, filmed by a neighbour whose son saw the fire before emergency services arrived, showed plumes of thick smoke billowing from the home, with large flames shooting out of the property.
He said the fire quickly engulfed the home. By the time firefighters arrived, the property was burning fiercely.
“[The flames] would have been 5m, maybe, in the air, from the top of the house.”
He said the top storey of the house was well alight, and it was lucky there was little wind, given the risk of large trees burning on either side of the property.
The neighbour said the fire was a wake-up call, and his thoughts were with the people who lived in the home.
“I feel sorry for them. I mean, I don’t know them, but obviously it’s pretty devastating,”
Neighbour Kathy saw bright orange flames rising “really high”, saying they raged for at least 20 minutes.
“I’ve never seen a fire like it. It was intense, it was scary. I won’t tell you what my first words were.”
A homeowner on the street said he awoke to the sound of sirens.
“I think everybody woke up.
“It sounded like they broke the door down or something like that because of the fire,” he said, describing hearing banging noises.
He couldn’t see the fire from his window, but he could smell the smoke strongly from inside his house despite having all his windows and doors closed.