A 19-year-old woman seriously burned in an early morning house fire in Timaru has been transferred to Auckland's Middlemore Hospital in a critical condition.
A 21-year-old man also suffered minor injuries in the blaze, which broke out on Church St at about 5:50am on Sunday morning.
Southern Communications shift commander Andrew Norris said the woman was asleep when the fire struck, but was awoken by smoke alarms.
However, injuries were sustained because the smoke alarms were installed in a different room to that which the teenager was in.
The woman sustained her burns as she was fleeing the property, and was flown to Auckland on Sunday night to receive treatment at Middlemore Hospital's Burns Unit.
The Fire Service said the blaze resulted in significant damage to the property, but is not being treated as suspicious.
Newshub.
