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A woman is dead after a house fire in South Auckland despite desperate attempts by neighbours and emergency services to save her life.
Neighbours had called out in vain to the occupant of the Manurewa bedsit after seeing smoke belch from the building yesterday afternoon.
The woman, described by neighbours as a middle-aged Maori, lived alone in the standalone unit.
Chancz Tihi was visiting his friend next door when he saw smoke coming from the roof and windows.
He jumped over the fence while his friend phoned emergency services.
"I checked the sliding door. That wasn't open, so I told the neighbours," he said.
"I was looking in the windows, seeing if anyone was in there, but I was getting no response. I couldn't hear anything or anyone."
Firefighters had received multiple calls to the Gloucester Rd address at 4.51pm yesterday.
Although the fire is not thought to be suspicious, the bedsit remained under guard overnight as fire safety officers and police awaited daylight to begin their investigation.
Officer John Carpenter of the Manurewa Fire Service said firefighters found the badly burned woman in the bedroom and carried her from the building.
"She was alive but she wasn't talking," Mr Carpenter said.
"Unfortunately she wasn't in very good shape. She had been burned and we administered first aid, oxygen, and cooled her down and got the ambulance to take her to hospital."
She was taken to Middlemore Hospital, where she died.
Sergeant Rupert Friend of Manurewa police station said the fire appeared to have caused fairly minor damage.
Police were last night confirming the identity of the woman, who is believed to be in her 50s, before notifying next of kin.
