Fire investigators have determined that two house fires in Whanganui last week were not suspicious.
Fire and Emergency Whanganui assistant area commander Jemal Weston said a fire that significantly damaged a Quick Ave house on June 27 was possibly due to sparks from a chimney getting into a roof void.
A fire contained to two rooms and part of a roof in a Putiki Dr house on June 26 may have been caused by ashes removed from a fireplace.
"It's a good reminder that ashes should be placed in a steel bucket as that's the likely cause of that fire," Weston said.
"These two fires show it's a good idea to have working smoke alarms which are an early warning of these types of incidents."
