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Fire Service investigators have still to establish whether an Auckland boarding house blaze last week was deliberately lit.
The 16 male residents of the boarding house in New North Road, Kingsland, were forced to flee the building about 11.15pm on Wednesday.
Fire safety officer Tony Culmer said it was still unclear what caused the fire.
"At this stage there's no conclusive evidence to point to any one particular cause," he told NZPA.
"There is suspicion the fire may have been deliberately lit, but at this stage there is no evidence to draw any conclusions from."
Forensic evidence gathered from the site was being tested to try to establish how the fire started, he said.
Police were also involved in the investigation while it was still possible the fire was suspicious, Mr Culmer said.
The fire appeared to have started on the ground floor which was gutted and a fire communications centre spokesman said emergency workers could have been dealing with fatalities if the house had not been fitted with smoke alarms.
- NZPA
