Man found dead in house fire after Armed Offenders callout

Police say they negotiated with a man who was later found dead in a Northland house fire. Photo / file

Police were negotiating with a man later found dead in a house fire in Northland early this morning after a firearms incident.

The Armed Offenders Squad were called the Mangamuka property, south of Kaitaia, at 2.30pm yesterday following reports of a firearm being discharged.

Northland police spokeswoman Sarah Kennett said there was a dispute at the property over a "trespass matter".

"The Armed Offenders Squad was called in and began negotiating with the occupier of the address," she said.

"About 12.30am this morning a fire was noticed inside the house. AOS attempted to enter the address to rescue the occupant. However, they had to pull back due to a number of explosions."

The Fire Service was called and once the fire had been extinguished police were able to enter the house and found a man's body.

"Police have cordoned off the property and are carrying out inquiries to ascertain the circumstances around the fire and the death of the man," Ms Kennett said.

The man's name will not be released until next of kin have been notified.

Fire Safety investigators are working with police to establish the cause of the fire.