KEY POINTS:
Police have named the three men who died in a Blenheim house fire last Thursday.
They were John Ayers, 53, John Rogal, 43, and Daniel Reeves, 23. All were from Blenheim.
Police said the fire, which gutted the house on the corner of Elzy and Kinross streets about 3am, was not being treated as suspicious.
The investigation team was beginning to form a view as to the cause, but was awaiting further advice from experts.
The deaths had been referred to the coroner.
Mr Reeves' brother, Chris McKendrick, said the family was struggling to cope with his death.
"It is a very hard process to go through. You should not have to bury anyone younger than yourself, especially a family member," he told the Marlborough Express.
"It is a real tragedy for something like this to happen.
"It is not just our family struggling through this. There are two other people that were friends that have passed on. It is very tragic."
Mr McKendrick said he saw his brother for the last time the night before his death.
"I had seen Daniel the night before, where I worked. We chatted and he left... At about 8.30am I got a phone call from my sister-in-law saying there had been a fire and they thought Daniel was in the house."
He described his brother as a "bubbly" young man.
"He was fantastic. He was a bubbly 23-year-old who befriended everybody. He looked out for other people and not himself...
"He has got six nieces and nephews who he just adored, and they adored him. He just enjoyed himself and he enjoyed life."
Mr Reeves' family have gathered in Blenheim before the funeral on Thursday.
- NZPA
