Fatal Palmerston North fire started in kitchen

  • 04/09/2015
Police say the surviving family are being offered support (3 News)
Police say the surviving family are being offered support (3 News)

Police have named the two victims of a deadly Palmerston North house fire yesterday morning.

They were Eunice Felton, 6, and her grandmother Bessie Tehuia Tokona, 61.

A tangi will be held at Monrad Intermediate School for the pair and it is expected they'll be laid to rest near Ruatoria Marae tomorrow.

The two bodies were removed from the Exeter Cres house yesterday afternoon, and a post-mortem completed today.

Police have passed on their condolences to the family and say they'll continue to provide support to the surviving members.

Meanwhile, investigators say the fire is likely to have started in the kitchen and is not considered suspicious.

Six others, from the same extended family, were admitted to hospital, though only one remains there in a stable condition.

Police and fire investigators have been able to get into the house today.

However, Central District CIB Detective Inspector Ross McKay says more work needs to be done in terms of the cause.

There has been confusion about whether the seven-bedroom, two-storey state house had working fire alarms.

Housing New Zealand says it installed 11 smoke alarms in the house last year, while the Fire Service reported seeing a box of smoke alarms in the house. Police say some family members may have been awoken by the alarms.

The deaths have been referred to the coroner.

3 News