Fatal fire 'doesn't appear' suspicious

A house fire which killed a woman in south Auckland on Friday night is not believed to be suspicious.

The woman's body was found when firefighters arrived at the fiercely burning house in Birdwood Ave, Papatoetoe in south Auckland, about 8.30pm

Fire safety officers had investigated the possibility of it being suspicious.

However, Detective Senior Sergeant Gary Lendrum of Counties Manukau Police said today it did not appear to have been deliberately lit.

"We're pretty confident it's not suspicious as a result of the Fire Service investigation yesterday," he said.

"We're still waiting for a final report but it's likely to be referred to the coroner."

Mr Lendrum said police believed they knew who the victim was but said they were unlikely to be able to name her until Tuesday as they needed dental records to confirm her identity.

- NZPA