An elderly woman was killed in a house fire in south Auckland early this morning.
Emergency services were called to the rural property on Dreadon Rd, Opaheke, at about 3am, Fire Service communications spokesman Jaron Phillips said.
The house was already burning fiercely when firefighters arrived.
Police confirmed one elderly woman had died.
Meanwhile, a house in Kaikohe, Northland, was destroyed in a suspicious fire at about 4.30am. No one was at the house.