A woman has been burned and is in a critical condition in hospital after escaping a house fire in Avonside, Christchurch this morning.
A Christchurch Hospital spokeswoman said the woman was in a critical condition after being taken to the hospital suffering from smoke inhalation and burns.
The woman and two men managed to make it out of a house on Dunarnan St after it caught alight this morning.
The two men suffered moderate injuries, including cuts to their arms, and were being monitored by hospital staff.
They were expected to be discharged later today, said the spokeswoman.
Ambulance, police and fire services were called to the blaze shortly after 10am, said St John spokesman Ian Henderson.
The fire was brought under control after about half an hour, but fire services remained at the scene for about three hours, said Christchurch Fire Station senior officer Steve Kennedy.
The house was badly damaged and appears blackened with many windows missing, said one neighbour, who wishes not to be named.
The white one-level home, now a "mess'', had extensive damage to the front, side and back of the house, as well as up the driveway, she said.
She said the house was a Housing New Zealand-owned home, and one man had to be rescued from the blaze.
"They had to get one of the blokes out ... He was lying on the grass, and they bandaged him up and took him away,'' she said.
She said the street was "not a very good street'' and untrustworthy types of people lived on the street; "they're all a bit rough down here.''
Christchurch police senior sergeant Milli Wheare said the cause of the fire was not yet known.
A policeman will guard the scene tonight, and an investigation into what sparked the fire will continue tomorrow morning, she said.
