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Police are investigating a suspicious fire at an Auckland boarding house last night, forcing the 16 residents to flee.
The all male residents of the boarding house in New North Road, Kingsland, were left with only the clothes they were wearing, police said.
The alarm was raised about 11.15pm and police and fire officers were today still at the scene of the blaze which is being treated as suspicious until the cause can be established.
The fire appeared to have started on the ground floor which was gutted.
A Northern Fire Communications spokesman said the fire was still regarded as suspicious and the investigation had been turned over to police.
Fire safety officers had yet to determine what had caused the fire, he said.
If the house had not been fitted with smoke alarms, emergency workers would have been dealing with fatalities, he said.
"They were very lucky occupants."
One resident, who did not want to be named, told NZPA he was in his room last night when he heard a rumble.
"I opened the door and saw this big black thing."
He escaped by smashing the window of his ground floor bedroom.
The man, who had been living at the house for three years said he was staying with his sister who lived nearby but some residents had been living there much longer.
"One guy, he's been there for 17 years. He didn't want to leave his room."
A police spokesman said its Northern Communications Centre staff spent some time assisting the owner of the boarding house in locating alternative overnight accommodation for the residents at backpacker hostels around the city.
-NZPA
