Central North Otago fire risk management officer Stuart Ide said while those issues would be looked into, he could not provide more information on the cause until an investigation had been completed.
Despite that, he did not believe the fire was intentional.
After initial inspection of the scene on Tuesday, the day the fire occurred, Mr Ide said he would return today with an insurance investigator.
''I don't know when it [the investigation] will be finished. I would like it to be finished tomorrow but material may be sent away for analysis.''
Mr Ide said information provided by the tenant of the house indicated the blaze, which gutted the property, started in the lounge.
The Fire Service had been told there was a smoke alarm installed in the house, but the tenant had not been woken by it, and volunteer firefighters had not heard it when they attended the scene.
Mr Ide said the issue of smoke alarms was a recurring theme.
''If you have sufficient smoke alarms then you will get early alarms. Fires are burning a lot faster than in the past due to the items we put in houses.''
Materials such as plastics, which burnt quickly, were becoming more common in homes.
Time until a room was ''fully involved'' was now about three minutes from when a fire started, compared to previous approximations of about seven minutes, he said.
Mr Ide said five smoke alarms was a sufficient number for a three-bedroom home.
When looking into fires, investigators looked at details such as any addition or removal of objects at the scene, he said.
These could provide information about whether a fire was deliberate or accidental.
A Catholic Women's League member said tenants of the house had received support from the group in the form of clothing from their op-shop in Ranfurly for a 2-year-old boy. A neighbour of the house where the fire occurred said the tenants were staying with family in Ranfurly.
- by Leith Huffadine
