KEY POINTS:
The man who died in a garage fire in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga on Thursday morning was known to police but may not have been cooking up methamphetamine, as first thought.
Police said firefighters took precautions when they arrived at the burning garage, believing there was a possibility it may have been an illegal P lab. Firefighters wore breathing apparatus and were washed down in decontamination showers after the fire was put out.
"However, examinations have probably not alluded to the fact that it was a P lab," said Detective Senior Sergeant Simon Scott.
He said the police examination of the garage had not finished.
"I don't want to say one way or the other but if people want to say it was a bubbling P lab that exploded, that is not the case."
Mr Scott said the dead man, Nicholas John Game, 37, of Onehunga, was known to police but would not say if he was a drug user, dealer or a known drug manufacturer.
The dead man died from smoke inhalation and the fire was thought to have been started by an electrical fault.
- NZPA
