Body removed from scene after Burnham house fire by NZDF

One person has died and three others were treated for injuries following a fire at a defense forces home outside Burnham military camp, south of Christchurch, this morning.

Emergency services were called to put out the fire on Toanui St shortly after 2am, which has now been confirmed to be a defense dwelling just outside the Burnham military camp perimeter fence.

Police, along with fire investigators from Fire and Emergency New Zealand, are carrying out an examination of the scene to determine the cause of the fire, Detective Sergeant Brent Menzies said in an update today.

“This work continues and staff will return to site tomorrow.”

Menzies said the body of the person who died “has been removed from the property and will undergo a formal identification process which is expected to take some time.”

The death has been referred to the coroner.

“The police extend our deepest condolences to the family and friends of the deceased who we have provided support to and we will continue to keep them informed of the investigation.”

Camp Burnham Senior Commander Julie Richardson confirmed that four houses within the complex and their occupants had been affected.

“Our thoughts are with the whānau who have lost a member of their family and with everyone affected by today’s fire,” he said.

Richardson said NZDF welfare homes had been opened for their occupants.

“Support is being provided to all those affected, including through advocacy community facilitators and Burnham’s father.”

“While the homes at Burnham Military Camp are owned by the NZDF, some are occupied by NZDF personnel and others are rented by non-NZDF personnel. We cannot comment at this time whether the homes affected by the fire were occupied by NZDF personnel,” he said.

Richardson added that homes occupied by non-NZDF families are managed through commercial property managers.

Earlier, police confirmed that one person had died after the fire and said a guard was at the scene while investigations continued.

St John told 1News it sent three ambulances, two rapid response units and a manager to the scene.

Three people were taken to Christchurch Hospital, two in moderate condition and one in serious condition.

Forty firefighters worked to control the fire, which has since been brought under control.