The fire that gutted the rear of a rented Maia home and left a young family without a place to live was caused by an electrical fault, a fire investigator says.
Specialist fire investigator Mike Harrison, of Dunedin, said the blaze appeared to have been started by a fault in the laundry.
During the investigation, Mr Harrison was unable to locate any working smoke alarms.
Nathan Ladbrook, partner Courtney Mercer-Black and baby Evelyn Ladbrook (8 months) were lucky to escape the Ravensbourne Rd blaze on Friday.
A bedroom, toilet and laundry were gutted and 80% of the home was smoke damaged in the fire.
The family lost most of their possessions. They had no insurance.
Mr Harrison said the house ‘‘appears to have been rewired'' but he could not say how long ago.
‘‘We did find a smoke alarm in the building, but it wasn't fitted or active,'' he said.
People should be wary if lightbulbs were blowing and circuit breakers on switchboards were popping frequently, he said.
If this was happening, the wiring needed to be checked, he said.
There has been an outpouring of community support for the family, with offers of accommodation, clothing and baby products.
A Givealittle page was set up for the family on Sunday.
