Crowds gathered and bagpipe music played as hearses containing the bodies were driven from the burnt remains of the Collingwood Street house.
Jake Hayes, 19, Connor Swetman, 17, and Toni Maree Johnston, 25, are believed to have lost their lives in the fire that broke out just hours after a house party took place.
Emergency service spent much of today securing the building before allowing officers in to recover the bodies and search the remains.
Waikato CIB detective senior sergeant Graham Pitkethley said police were working with the families to remove the bodies to assist the families in the grieving process.
A karakia signaled the start of the removal and the grieving families huddled within the cordon as the painstaking operation began.
"There are still areas of the house that we can't get into and our focus is on the deceased at the moment."
One of the teenagers at the house party said today he was woken by screams as a fire ripped through the house.
Bayley Reid, 17, smashed a window on the second storey and escaped the flames.
A Hamilton teen who was crashing in his friends' room was woken by screams and smashed a window where he made his escape from the second storey as the old Collingwood St villa was engulfed in flames.
Bayley Reid, 17, was the last to escape from the burning building after climbing out the second storey window and climbing onto the deck, down the front steps and to safety.
The teen had been staying in the room with his friends Jake Hayes and Connor Swetman and looked up to see flames engulfing the second storey of the old Collingwood St villa.
"I looked out the window and there were big flames so I jumped up, woke my mates up and we all freaked out."
He had expected his friends to be behind him - but his two good buddies never made it out.
Bayley said his friends "were right there".
The teen thinks he was the last one to make it out alive and joined three others who had already escaped standing on the road.
"I'm pretty heart-broken aye I want to know where my bros are. Where both of them are."
He described the house as being a "ball of orange flames". "It was insane. It went up so fast."
Bayley was good friends Jake and Connor, who were described as being awesome but did not know the third flatmate Toni Maree Johnston who is presumed dead.
A party goer believed Toni Maree had been at clubs in town and arrived home shortly before the fire started.
About 30 police and fire service staff have spent the day re-enforcing the house to make it safe and it is expected to be at least another few hours before the house can be entered and the bodies recovered.
Painful wait for families
Dozens of families and friends of the three flatmates who died in the fire have been arriving at throughout the day and have been gathering at a vacant car park opposite the scene. They have been carrying flowers, comforting each and shedding tears.
Jake's black and white toned Toyoto ute was driven to the site by his brother earlier this afternoon and a large group gathered around that to pay their respects.
Families of the victims also gathered inside the cordon and a karakia was held.
Connor - a happy joker
Friends of Connor Swetman were paying tribute to their mate online. One described struggling to deal with the "heart-breaking" news Mr Swetman was presumed dead.
Connor Swetman's friends have been trying to contact him.
Another friend described Mr Swetman as a happy and upbeat person who was always helping people and telling jokes.
Even people who did not know Mr Swetman were moved enough to send their condolences. "I didn't know you but fly high bro and all my loves go out to your friends and family god has a space for you in heaven," one wrote on Facebook this morning.
Friends who gathered at the Collingwood St villa told the Herald on Sunday it was Mr Hayes' first night in the home and the party was to welcome him.
"We've confirmed three people are deceased in the building but we haven't cleared the building," Waikato police spokesman Andrew McAlley said this morning. "The site is unsafe and it hasn't been cleared."
Police intended to work with the Coroner to identify the cause of the fire and confirm the names of those who died in the blaze. The site was not expected to be cleared until this afternoon.
Cause of fire still unknown
It could take days to determine what started the fire.
"We still want anyone who was at the scene who hasn't spoken to police to come forward." Mr McAlley said. "This is a very major event that's very traumatic to a number of people...if those young people for whatever reason may not have come forward, we would say to put the interests of the concerned parties first, come forward and make themselves known."
He said it was possible some of the partygoers had left town.
Police said it was possible some partygoers were taking pictures or videos of the party shortly before the fire broke out, and any such content could be helpful in establishing what caused the fire.
It was believed seven people lived in the six-bedroom home, but some were out at the time while other partygoers were thought to have been staying there.
Waikato Fire Area commander Roy Breeze described the deaths as "very, very sad".
Police standing guard at the scene of a house fire in Collingwood Street. Photo / Doug Sherring
Mr Breeze said police and Victim Support were dealing with the distraught families.
"This is obviously a very emotional time made all the more so by the delays in clearing the building and recovering the bodies."
NZME.
