The Fire Service in Christchurch used a digger on Saturday to search a burned-out building to make sure no one was trapped inside.
The two-storey house, in Salisbury street near Hagley Park in the central city, caught fire and collapsed on Friday night.
It has been derelict since the February earthquake.
A bystander had told fire crews there might have been someone inside, but it was too dangerous for crews to get in to check.
Southern communications shift manager Andrew Norris says there is no evidence that anyone was in the building.