Many residents were out on the street, watching the police conduct their site investigation.
They said they were unaware of what was happening, and had not seen or heard anything out of the ordinary the night before.
A couple of residents mentioned there had been a fight involving residents at the property on Tuesday night, but were unsure whether that incident was related.
While police were undertaking their scene investigation several members of the Mongrel Mob appeared.
At least one car load of Mongrel Mob members drove past the end of the road yelling something which sounded like "Bruce dog".
The man was 30 years old, a police spokesperson said.
The fire services hazmat van was also on site, however fire services declined to comment to Hawke's Bay Today.
St John attended the scene overnight, but also declined to comment further.
