Police investigating the fire determined there are “no suspicious circumstances”. A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said on Wednesday “the report into the cause of the fire has not yet been completed”.
Chandra said she was informed by her sister-in-law about the incident.
“She said, ‘Subhag, this is your house?’ I said, ‘Oh my God, what’s wrong?’”
When she realised what had happened, she “started yelling”.
It was all the more upsetting after the death of her husband Roger in September last year at the age of 83.
One person was found dead inside a sleepout at the Ōtāhuhu property. Photo / Anna Heath
“I’m so upset because I lost everything,” she said. “I lost my husband and I lost everything in the studio.
“I’m still grieving for him … I did everything for him. I looked after him in bed. So it’s too painful for me. When I pass the place [of his] funeral, I can’t talk properly. I always think about it.”
Chandra said she had a “terrible feeling” when she first arrived home from her trip.
“Straight away I just went [into] the garage … Oh my God, I was just yelling. I was very terrified.”
The cause of the fatal fire at an Ōtāhuhu property is still unknown. Photo / Anna Heath
Chandra, who lived alone after her husband died, said she reluctantly agreed to let the woman stay with her in the garage-turned-studio accommodation at the rear of her property.
She said the woman stayed for one week before begging to stay with her again.
Chandra agreed, thinking the woman would be helpful while she was overseas.
“She [would] just come and go. One week she stayed … and then [the] second week she went to [a] friend’s place.
“She begged me … to come again. I just gave [her] a chance because I was going to Fiji.
“I just [thought] she will be supportive for me.”
Chandra didn’t know the cause of the fire but said the woman staying in the sleepout was a smoker.
“She smokes on the chair as well all the time. I told her not to.
“I just don’t know her properly. That’s my mistake.”