The victim of a house fire in South Dunedin says he has ''lost everything''.
Michael MacKay (51) was the sole tenant in the rear flat of a house that was gutted by fire yesterday morning.
''But I'm alive and that's the main thing,'' Mr MacKay said.
A fan heater was being used to warm up bedding by a tenant in the front flat, according to Dunedin Senior Station Officer Rob Torrance.
Firefighters were called to the house in Cutten St about 12.45am after the blaze erupted.
''The last thing I remember [is] I was just drifting off to sleep. I heard a window break and as I got up I saw embers floating past my window,'' Mr MacKay said.
''The front flat was well ablaze.''
Despite the setback, he was trying to stay positive, he said.
''I'm not going to let it get the best of me.
''My whanau is rallying around and they are going to sort me out,'' he said.
Mr MacKay's son, Josh Rosey (17), was not there at the time of the fire but was visibly shaken when speaking to the Otago Daily Times yesterday.
''If I was [there], I would be freaking,'' he said.
Josh said he lost all his clothing, sports equipment and $400 or $500 cash that he had at the house.
Neighbour Joyce Martin (82) took Mr MacKay in during the blaze and said the fire was ''massive''.
''I have never seen such a massive fire in all my life,'' she said.
''We were sort of wondering if the windows [in her house] were going to break [because of the heat].''
Mr MacKay had ''a couple of cups of coffee'' while being comforted and kept calm, she said.
''He didn't even have a pair of shoes to put on his feet,'' she said.
Some neighbouring houses were evacuated for fear they would also catch fire.
''The police were great,'' resident Vicky Campbell said,Mrs Campbell's two children, aged 5 and 11, were sleeping at the time and did not realise how bad the blaze was while they were being evacuated, she said.
Mr Torrance said all the tenants were ''very lucky to get out alive''.
''The occupants have told us they were ... heating up the bedding or the bed,'' Mr Torrance said.
''[The fire] was very well involved by the time our guys got there.
''You're looking at about 700degC.''
A dividing wall separated the two flats and three occupants were present in the front flat.
Three fire engines from St Kilda, Central and Lookout Point stations attended the blaze.
It took fire crews about 40 minutes to extinguish the blaze, which damaged a car parked across the road and forced the evacuation of at least two houses, he said.
East Otago area commander Laurence Voight said it appeared neither flat had smoke alarms.
''If they were [there], it didn't appear they were working,'' he said.
Fire investigators completed their inquiries by noon yesterday and would determine what caused the fire in coming days.
It did not appear to be suspicious.
Mr Voight said the fire reinforced the importance of keeping all heaters at least 1m away from combustibles.
He also called for people to ensure they had working smoke alarms in their homes.
