A family is waiting for answers as the Fire Service investigates whether its staff had been drinking before going to a fatal fire, and whether more should have been done to save the victim.
Mary Jean Chaston (87) died after being trapped in her burning home in Rangiora, on September 20.
Her husband, Jack Chaston, escaped with the help of a passer-by.
But Mrs Chaston's family are worried about the time it took firefighters to get her out of the house after she was initially found with no signs of life.
The Fire Service estimates up to eight minutes passed after Mrs Chaston was found before she was removed from the house.
She was revived by paramedics, but died in Christchurch Hospital the next day.
The Fire Service is carrying out an "operational review", which will also look at whether any of those at the scene had been drinking earlier while off-duty.
Mrs Chaston's son, Bruce Frampton, said there were questions that needed to be addressed at a coroner's hearing.
"There is a certain amount of controversy over what did happen that night."
Fire Service Acting National Commander Bill Butzbach said Transalpine Fire Region manager Rob Saunders and Rangiora volunteer brigade chief Ross Ditmer had been at a social barbecue from "about lunchtime" on the day of the fire while off-duty.
Being nearby, both were driven to the fire scene after 9pm.
"I think it's really up to the internal process to identify just what happened there. But what I'm really sure about is that there is no real correlation between the presence of those two individuals and the outcome of the fire."
Mr Saunders was "just a bystander".
Mr Ditmer, while taking charge of the firefighting operation, would not have made tactical decisions about "who is going to be going where, and doing the rescue and all of that - that would have been done by officers in charge of the fire engine", Mr Butzbach said.
A preliminary report released by the Fire Service states, "The brigade arrived five minutes after the 111 call and were told by the passer-by who had rescued the elderly man that the man's wife was in the lounge.
"Firefighters wearing breathing apparatus carefully searched this large, dark, smoke-filled room, for 10-12 minutes," the report said.
"When they were certain she was not there, they began searching adjoining rooms. When the woman was found in a bedroom, the firefighters' air supply warning was sounding.
"They checked her, found no signs of life and retreated so that another two firefighters could come in with fresh breathing apparatus to carry her out."
