Wellington blaze still being treated as suspicious

A fire which levelled a home and spread to a neighbouring property in the Wellington suburb of Titahi Bay last month is being treated as suspicious, police have confirmed.

Eight fire trucks fought the blaze, which started shortly before 5.50pm on 20 June and escalated quickly in high winds.

Neighbour Jamaine Tuhoe told RNZ the morning after the blaze that the fire spread from the kitchen in the front of the house and engulfed the building after a large explosion.

"It was a little fire first - just coming out the kitchen window - and then I came outside and it just blew up.

"In a second it just exploded. The whole kitchen exploded and then the whole house was on fire. A big bang, 'boom', and that was it," Tuhoe said.

The blaze destroyed two caravans near the property as well as rendering one home next door temporarily uninhabitable.

Fire and Emergency said investigators had been unable to determine the cause of the fire "due to fire damage and instability of the remaining structure".

This week Kapiti-Mana Area Commander, Renee Perkins confirmed police were still making enquiries into the cause of the blaze.

"At this stage the cause of the fire is unknown, and is being treated as suspicious. No arrests or charges have been laid at this time," Perkins said.

The owner of the house - Thariq Rifki of Rifki homes - bought the property in late March as a mortgagee sale.

He said he welcomed the police investigation into the fire.

"There's a lot of unknowns for me. I've lodged with insurance. They're doing their bit. They're investigating on things. I'm just helpless at the moment. I've got to wait and see what happens," Rifki said.

He said he felt for the people in the neighbourhood who were put in danger by the fire.

"I was very upset about it. When you see that you can imagine how bad the fire has been and I'm glad they got out in time," Rifki said.