The police have named the man who died in a Christchurch house fire on Monday morning.
The fire at the New Brighton house is being investigated. Photo: RNZ/Conan Young
Karl Frederick Blackett, 50, was inside a Shaw Avenue house in New Brighton when it caught fire in the early hours of the morning.
Earlier this week, Karen Holmes, a friend of Blackett's, said he was a talented artist who would be sorely missed.
"He loved travelling and he had a love for nature. He was searching [for a place to live] - he'd been in a flat here then gone away and done some travelling then come back here to settle."
She said she was in shock at the loss of her friend.
Fire and Emergency assistant area commander Mike Bowden said at the time emergency services could have been dealing with a much worse situation if it weren't for working smoke alarms.
"As tragic as this absolutely is, the other thing to remember is six other people were woken by the smoke alarms and have evacuated the house."
Of the boarding house's six remaining tenants, just one suffered an injury in the form of a small cut to their arm.
Police and Fire and Emergency are investigating the fire.