Jul 27th 2008 6:33pm
NZPA Auckland
Candles may have caused Matamata Fire
Auckland, July 27 NZPA - A blaze that claimed the life of a 38-year-old man in north Waikato may have been caused by candles the family were using when power was cut during this weekend's storm.
The man was found dead in his home in Meremere, 65km southeast of Auckland, following the blaze about 3am today.
His 12-year-old daughter was pulled out of the house by firefighters and was taken to Middlemore Hospital, where she remained this evening being treated for smoke inhalation.
Three other people -- the girl's mother and her two young children, both under three, escaped the blaze unhurt.
Fire safety officer Ray Coleman said the house had been totally destroyed.
'There is nothing to suggest this is a suspicious fire,' he told NZPA.
'But it is difficult to tell how it started because so much of the house has been destroyed. It is uninhabitable.'
Mr Coleman said the tile roof of the house had caved in following the fire and investigators had to work their way through the rubble before pinpointing the cause of the fire.
Fire officer Kevin Hickey said on TV3 that candles may have caused the fire.
Police said the fire devastated not only the family but neighbours.
'Locals are devastated about what has happened but are starting to rally around now,' Sergeant Juliet Burgess of Huntly Police said.
Credit:NZPA