Gore house fire being investigated

POLICE and fire investigators are working to establish the cause of a house fire in Gore on Friday night that left a man with serious injuries.

The man was flown by the Otago Regional Rescue Helicopter to Dunedin Hospital after the suspicious fire began about 9.10pm, extensively damaging the Gorton St house.

The man was found outside the house and helped by St John ambulance staff before being flown to Dunedin, emergency services workers said.

Thirty firefighters backed by four fire appliances, two from Gore and two from Mataura, tackled the fastmoving fire and managed to extinguish it.

The scene remained cordoned off while police and fire investigators worked to establish the cause of the fire, a police spokeswoman said.