And after a spate of house fires in Dunedin over the past month, it is something firefighters are seeing all too often.
Otago fire risk management officer John Smalls said it appeared there had been an "above average" number of fires and they were being investigated.
"It’s frustrating in the sense that most of these fires are avoidable," he said.
"Quite often someone’s lost their entire life."
Since June 14, there have been at least six significant residential fires in the Dunedin area.
They included a blaze at the former Wolfenden and Russell building in South Dunedin, and fires in Concord, Brockville, Port Chalmers and Mosgiel.
The latest was in Corstorphine on Sunday morning, when a Middleton Rd house was left uninhabitable.
Outside Dunedin, a house in Forth St, Mataura, was damaged by fire on June 29.
Mr Smalls said one benefit of being a fire investigator was the ability to determine a fire’s cause and give people some closure. But it was still a tough job.
"Certainly what affects me the most is seeing upset people, particularly families, looking at their entire lives that have just gone up in smoke.
"You still see people very, very distraught and it’s heartbreaking to deal with."
Some key things to be aware of during the winter months were the need to clean chimneys, not having heaters too close to anything — the "metre to heater" rule — and keeping an eye on cooking.
In terms of reassurance, having insurance was a good starting point.
"We had one in Hawea.
"There was a young girl from the Czech Republic and she was staying in a sleepout."
She was uninsured.
