On Saturday, a 26-year-old man was arrested by police after a person was injured with a weapon at a Heriot Row property, a police spokeswoman said.
Emergency services were notified of the incident at 8am.
A man living at the property said he was woken early that morning by the blaring of a smoke alarm going off due to a small fire at the property.
However, he was too scared to leave his room as he could hear screaming coming from the shared living space.
When he eventually walked into the space, he saw pools of blood on the ground and that his flatmate had been stabbed.
The 26-year-old alleged perpetrator was known to the victim and the flatmate.
The victim was transported to Dunedin Hospital in a critical condition.
Firefighters arrived on scene and extinguished the fire.
Detective Sergeant Matthew Harris, of Dunedin, said police were wanting more information from the public about the incident.
He asked for anyone who stopped to help the victim that morning, or for members of the public with CCTV or dashcam footage from the area, to get in touch with police.
A 26-year-old man will appear in the Dunedin District Court on May 28 charged with attempted murder.
