The fire which destroyed a house in Queenstown last week was caused by either an extension cord or the cellphone charger plugged into it. Mr Ide said the cellphone charger was lying on a bed, plugged into an extension cord. The extension cord was plugged in to the wall, with power going to it. Mr Ide planned to send the cellphone cord and extension cord away for further examination hoping to determine the ''exact cause'', however, ''we may not have enough [left] at the end of the day to take it any further''. ''Smoke alarms are there to save people; it's not to save the house.''

Source: Otago Daily Times February 13, 2018 16:30 UTC