Police and fire safety officers are investigating a suspicious blaze in an Invercargill home overnight.
A southern Fire Service spokesman said a fire broke out in the Ettrick St property at 8.10pm.
Three fire crews attended the blaze in the single-storey home.
No one was in the house at the time, he said.
It was now being treated as arson and police and fire safety officers will return to the damaged home this morning to investigate further, he said.