Police have released the name of the elderly man who died in a house fire south of Whangarei this morning.
He was 79-year-old Noel Hendry, of Ruakaka.
Firefighters spent about two hours fighting the blaze at a house in Ruakaka after being called to the Bream Bay Drive property at about 4.30am.
Mr Hendry was found dead in his bed after the fire was put out.
The amount of wooden furniture in the house made it difficult to get inside to rescue the man, and his body was found after the fire was put out.
Fire Service said the elderly man lived alone and was found in his bed.
Fire safety officer Craig Bain said the fire seems to have started in the bedroom of the Ruakaka house.
The Ruakaka Fire Brigade was at the fire five minutes after neighbours raised the alarm but found the house too far gone to get inside, Mr Bain said.
Detectives and Fire Service investigators have been at the scene and said they did not yet know the cause of the fire.
