A house was badly damaged in a South Island fire and one of its occupants was initially thought to be trapped inside.
Firefighters arrived at the Heriot house, in the Clutha district, just after 10pm yesterday and found it well ablaze.
They initially thought someone was trapped inside but soon found the occupants had escaped safely, a police spokesman said.
The blaze so intense it could only be fought from the outside and no firefighters could head into the house to extinguish the flames.
It is not thought to be suspicious.
