A man who died at a house fire in Invercargill tonight, appears to have died of natural causes, rather than smoke inhalation.
A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said emergency services were called by a member of the public who could hear a fire alarm sounding in Venus St, South Invercargill, about 8.10pm.
''On arrival, the house was smoke-logged, and members of the public were doing CPR on a man on the street.''
He said the man was dragged from the house and attempts to resuscitate him failed.
The cause of the fire was food cooking on the stove, he said.
Initially, it was not known whether the man died because of smoke inhalation, or whether he had died of natural causes after putting food on to cook.
A police spokeswoman confirmed the man died as the result of a medical event, and there was nothing to indicate any suspicious circumstances.
Despite the finding, fire investigators will investigate the scene tomorrow morning.
