People from the destroyed property, including one wrapped in a towel, were visibly upset and declined to comment when approached yesterday.
Mrs Van Rooy said it was fortunate her elderly female neighbour was not at her Loudon St property at the time of the incident, and her Central Otago-based family were travelling to Dunedin for support. Firefighters and four fire appliances from Dunedin, St Kilda, Lookout Point and Roslyn battled the blaze, which by 1pm had left the Kirkland St home partially collapsing on itself.
One person was in the home at the time of the incident, but did not suffer any injuries.
Southern Region fire safety officer Barry Gibson said it appeared the fire was caused when a person who had just refuelled a lawnmower, started it and it ignited some fuel which quickly spread to the basement of the house.
The fire then spread to some vented lpg cylinders which caught fire "and made it worse".
"A howling southerly, and the combination of the extra fuel loading from the lpg, meant the fire has blown across and ignited the home next door."
The Kirkland St home was completely destroyed, while the Loudon St home was severely damaged during the incident, he said.
