A video has emerged of a raging house fire in Christchurch that killed one person.
The clip shows large flames pouring out of the New Brighton home's windows as firefighters battle the blaze. Garden bushes at the front of the house also caught fire.
Three fire crews were called to the boarding house just before 6am on Monday morning, where they found the home engulfed in flames.
Six residents managed to escape, but the fire was burning too fast for one person who was trapped inside.
Karen Holmes - a friend of the person killed in the fire - said he was a talented artist and loving person.
"[He] was a 49-year-old man, a very loving soul, he loved travelling, he went travelling in Kaikoura and had a love for nature," she said.
The fire is believed to have started in a bedroom before spreading into the hallway and up into the roof.
While the fire isn't being treated as suspicious, police and Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said they're still working to determine the fire's cause.
"It's a well-maintained property, had working smoke alarms throughout so as yet it's a mystery as to what occurred," FENZ assistant area commander Mike Bowden said.
Firefighters said the mystery blaze could've been worse if the six other residents hadn't awoken to the sound of smoke alarms.
