Manawatu house fire 'no accident'

A fire that razed a Manawatu home overnight was "no accident" police say, amid reports a molotov cocktail sparked the blaze.

A couple, aged in their 40s, were woken by the sound of glass breaking shortly before 2am and got up to find their Bunnythorpe house ablaze, police spokeswoman Kim Perks said.

The pair, along with three girls aged between 10 and 13, escaped to the front lawn unhurt, and watched while firefighters battled the flames.

Initial police reports suggested a molotov cocktail had started the fire, but Detective Sergeant Kevin Anstis could not confirm that.

"From the information we know so far, we believe the fire was no accident but it is far too early to speculate beyond that until more forensic work and inquiries have been undertaken," he said.

The scene would be examined in detail today to establish where and how the fire was started, and police would be speaking to local residents to try to identify possible witnesses.

Police asked anyone with information about the fire to contact them.

Meanwhile, investigations into several other suspicious house fires at the weekend were continuing.

On Friday, a house on Heywood St in Invercargill was gutted after a fire started about 11.30pm.

Detective Chris Lucy said investigations were continuing slowly, but it was believed to have been an arson attack.

"I would certainly say it's suspicious. If it's a natural fire you'd expect there to be some dodgy wiring or something near where the fire started, but at this stage there are no wires there and the occupants were away at the time," he said.

On the same night, a property in the Highfield area of Timaru was severely damaged by a suspicious fire.

Fire services were called after neighbours saw smoke coming from the back of the two-storeyed flats, which were believed to have been empty for more than a month.

- NZPA