Generic fire truck. Photo: RNZ / Rebekah Parsons-King
Fire investigators and a police forensics team are examining a home in Whangārei where a man died in a suspicious house fire overnight.
The house, on Thomas Street in Tikipunga, was cordoned off and under police guard on Monday morning.
A car was destroyed and a house damaged in the early morning blaze, reported at 3.09am.
Firefighters from Whangārei and Kamo extinguished the flames and located a man inside the house. He died at the scene.
At 4.55am, just over two hours later, firefighters were called to another car fire, just a couple of blocks away near the corner of Vinegar Hill Road and Harrison Drive. That vehicle had been parked on the roadside in a new subdivision.
Fire investigators at the scene told RNZ they had confirmed the second car fire had been deliberately lit.
The earlier house fire was also being treated as suspicious, the investigation still in its early stages.
A specialist police forensic team was examining the house before it would be turned over to investigators Fire and Emergency NZ.
It was not immediately clear if the fire had spread from the car to the house or vice versa.
The Kāinga Ora home was still standing but damaged on one side, and fire had spread throughout the interior.
Detective Inspector Al Symonds said the male occupant suffered critical injuries, and died despite the efforts of first responders.
He said Tikipunga residents could expect to see an increased police presence on Monday.
Police had already spoken to witnesses in the area at the time of the incident.
"A scene guard has been in place this morning while a scene examination was commenced, and this will remain in place today as our enquiries continue," Symonds said.
A post-mortem examination and formal identification of the victim would be completed in the coming days. Until then police could not release further details about the deceased, he said.
Symonds urged anyone who was in the area at the time, or had information about the fires, to contact police as soon as possible.
Kāinga Ora Northland regional director Jeff Murray said staff had been on site on Monday morning supporting residents in neighbouring Kāinga Ora homes.
"Our thoughts are with the whānau and friends of the deceased," Murray said.