Police have released the name of a man who died in a fire in Hamilton on Saturday, 12 August.
He was 29-year-old Jonathan McKenzie, a Hamilton local.
Emergency services were called to the house on Fox St at 3.05am after the property was "fully engulfed".
In the wreckage, McKenzie was found dead. Three other people were able to escape the house.
"Police extend our sincere condolences to his whānau and friends," a spokesperson said.
Following the fire, two people were taken to Waikato Hospital, with one in a serious condition and another in a moderate condition.
An investigation into the circumstances of the blaze remains ongoing.
A witness living near the burning house, who did not wish to be named, took a video of the incident after being jolted awake by the commotion nearby.
Police say one person was found dead after the fire on Fox St early on Saturday morning. (Source: Supplied)
"I woke up hearing shouting and yelling in the street, then I heard sirens and I thought maybe it's a police chase down my street ... but then I got up and looked out my window and just saw this blaze in front of me from across the street," they told 1News.
The witness grabbed their phone and ran outside just as firefighters arrived at the scene, and described hearing "explosions and bangs" as the home burned.
"Nobody seemed to know what had happened. It took them a while to get it under control."
By around 6am, they saw most emergency services had left the scene, with some officers staying to guard the property.
They said they were "heartbroken" by the situation and for those who lost their home so suddenly.
"It was very scary not knowing what house [was burning] at 3 o'clock in the morning when it's dark and you just see flames ... at first I got a fright at first thinking it was my neighbour, and thinking if it could come across the street to my house.
"I could see it was behind my neighbour across the road, but I don't know how far back ... only when there was sunlight could you see what house it was."
They later learned a person had died in the fire, while three others managed to escape.
"It's heartbreaking, I feel so sorry for them. I'm really, really sad.
"I hope those that got out are OK."
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