1 Aug 2016

Deadly fire not arson - police

6:37 pm on 1 August 2016

A fire that claimed a man's life in Christchurch last Wednesday is not suspicious, police say.

Close up of a police officer at an incident on a residential street. 6 July 2016.

Photo: RNZ / Cole Eastham-Farrelly

A house in the Christchurch suburb of Woolston was extensively damaged in the early hours of Wednesday morning last week.

Two people escaped, but a body was later found in a self-contained flat at the house that was thought to have been vacant.

Police said a further forensic examination was required to establish the man's identity, but the cause of the fire was not suspicious.