A woman that died from smoke inhalation in a house fire may have re-entered the house after the blaze started.
A coroner has found Linda Blake died of smoke inhalation after a house fire that is thought to have started from a cigarette butt setting a couch on fire.
Coroner RG McElrea said the 54-year-old sickness beneficiary went into the kitchen when the fire started in her Christchurch home on February 7, 2012.
"Unfortunately she has overlooked an open escape route by way of the backdoor to the kitchen or has chosen to re-enter the house from this escape route into an atmosphere of heavy smoke."
The coroner said the importance of evacuating a house fire as quickly as possible is evident in the findings.
