The body of a woman found who died in a fatal Hamilton house fire remained at the site yesterday as investigators waited for areas of the home to cool down.
Nine people including children escaped from the fire, which partially destroyed the state house at about 3.45am yesterday. Two young children are still being treated at Waikato Hospital - one is in a serious condition.
Police and fire services expect to begin the investigation into the fire today because the house was too hot for them to enter yesterday.
Waikato police spokesman Andrew McAlley said police were unable to identify the body inside the house until the investigation was complete. The body would then be removed.
Nine of the 10 people who appeared to be at the house at various stages of the night had been accounted for, Mr McAlley said.
"The hot spots kept on flaring up and had to be dampened down which prevented the scene examination from starting. That's one of the main challenges."
Friends of the family said seven people lived at the house including a 3-year-old boy, who was last night in a stable condition at Waikato Hospital's intensive care unit, and his 1-year-old sister who had been cared for by the family since their own mother died last year.
A 20-year-old man and 15-year-old girl were discharged from hospital yesterday. A woman, her partner and a 13-year-old boy also lived at the house.
Holland St residents were woken by the fire in Fairfield about 3.45am as flames engulfed the house.
Neighbour Rita Didovich said she was woken by her dog barking and as she went out to quieten him down she spotted flames coming from the house.
"Boy, were those flames high. It was well alight. The lounge windows, bedroom windows and the rooms at the end of the house where the flames were coming out of were high flames ... They were as high as the roof, easily."
Ms Didovich said she saw a woman sitting on the other side of the road rocking back and forward as the flames took over.
Another neighbour said she heard a man and woman yelling for help. She heard a "big bang" as the glass shattered. "It was loud, all the windows burst," she said.
Neighbours said they heard a car screeching off from the house after the fire took over.
Friends said the house belonged to a young Maori family, who moved into the property two years ago.
Hamilton Detective Senior Sergeant Karl Thornton said firefighters discovered the body inside the house once they had extinguished the fire.
"As a result an investigation into this unexplained sudden death is now under way," Mr Thornton said.