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A man who spent several hours drinking at a Blenheim house before it caught fire, killing three of his friends, said everything was "sweet as" when he left.
Matthew Larson said about eight friends had been having a few beers at the Elzy St house last night.
Mr Larson said the three victims were all working in the same vineyard contracting crew and were "bloody good guys".
He left just after 1am, and by 2.45am only three men remained inside the house.
When fire fighters responded to a call from neighbours - arriving at the scene shortly after 3am - the house was already extensively damaged.
Three bodies were found in the remains of the building.
Blenheim deputy chief fire officer Ian Martella said the sheer speed of the fire made saving the lives of the occupants impossible.
"It took 10 minutes for firefighters to bring the fire under control and during the internal attack, one body was discovered in the bedroom, one in the lounge room and one just inside the back porch," Mr Martella said.
Nearly eight hours after the fire was put out, the heat inside the charred house was still too high for police and ESR staff to begin their investigations.
Senior constable Russell Smith of Blenheim said the three bodies found in the house had not been moved. He said they would stay there until after the scene examination and be referred to the coroner to establish the cause of death.
Mr Smith said police were investigating reports of an altercation in the area at around midnight.
He said reports from neighbours suggested there had been some drinking going on at the house and about midnight there was a loud argument.
"This wasn't visually witnessed, it was an altercation that was heard. It was a verbal argument, loud enough to wake up neighbours. But there was nothing there by the time they went out and had a look," Mr Smith said.
Mr Smith said it had not been confirmed that the argument involved occupants of the house.
Mr Larson said when he had been there everyone had been having a happy time and there had been no arguing.
"When we left it was all sweet as," Mr Larson said.
He said one of the deceased who he knew as John had just got a new job and was leaving the crew.
Another was a well-known identity at the local speedway and had his speedway car parked in the driveway.
"They had a really good night, they were all happy when they died and that just makes me feel a little bit better knowing they would not have felt it."
Mr Larson said he had only gone to the house to borrow a pot and saucer but his friends had invited him to stay and have a few beers and then a few more.
"I have still got the pot and saucer so I am going to get it engraved so I have got something to remember them by," he said.
Senior Constable Smith said it would still be hours until police and ESR scientists could start a forensic examination of the house to determine the cause of the fire and the occupants' deaths.
Mr Smith said the scene of the fire was cordoned off and fire fighters were still dampening down hot spots.
Dave Roberts lives on the street and said he heard a party going on at the house last night.
"I had a look out at about 10 and there was a bit of laughter and things. They were having a bit of fun," Mr Roberts said.
He said he didn't hear the reported argument but his house was back from the road.
"My neighbour woke me up and I went across at about twenty past three. There were three or four fire engines there, a heap of fire people, police and ambulance.
"When I saw it, the flames weren't coming out the windows but they didn't know how many were inside at that stage. The place was so full of smoke by the time the fire people got there, they wouldn't have had much of a chance," Mr Roberts said.
He said his neighbours who noticed the fire had banged on the windows to try and wake the occupants up but didn't have any success. He said it was a tragedy that three people had died in the fire.
Mr Roberts said he often waved to one of the men who lived there. He said he understood the three occupants of the house were men, two of whom were in their fifties and vineyard workers.
Another neighbour told NZPA she was woken by the sounds of smashing glass about 3am.
After calling the fire service, Tamara, who did not want to give her last name, went out on to the street with her family.
She said it seemed like the whole neighbourhood had come out to see what was going on, after the loud popping woke everyone up.
A woman, who she thought had come from inside the burning house, was screaming for help, saying people were inside.
The house was engulfed in fire, with large flames flaring from a corner room which looked out onto the street.
"Every window was smashed because of the heat," she said.
The roof was half off, as the fire had got into the top of the house, she said.
Tamara said she believed the owners of the house lived in Oamaru, or Timaru. The young renters of the property were usually quiet residents of the street, she said.
Southern fire shift commander Jan Wills said four appliances attended the fire and fire investigators were at the site.
- NEWSTALK ZB / NZHERALD STAFF / NZPA
