Fire in Kapuni hall being treated as suspicious

Share

Firefighters and police were called to the Kapuni War Memorial Hall on Thursday.

catherine groenestein/Stuff

Firefighters and police were called to the Kapuni War Memorial Hall on Thursday.

A fire in the Kapuni War Memorial Hall is being treated as suspicious.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand Shift Manager Carlos Dempsey said they were called to a fire at the hall on Manaia Rd around 8.30am Thursday.

Dempsey said the fire was not major and was extinguished quickly, but the origins of the fire were being treated as suspicious and the scene had been handed over to the police.

Crews from Kaponga, Manaia and Okaiawa were in attendance.

Sergeant Andrew Stilton said the blaze was a suspected arson.

Police, fire and emergency crew members and members of the local community outside the hall, which had several windows broken.

catherine groenestein/Stuff

Police, fire and emergency crew members and members of the local community outside the hall, which had several windows broken.

A member of the community had noticed smoke and called the fire brigade.

The fire had caused moderate damage to the back and inside of the building and a generator was being used to clear smoke from it, Stilton said. There was a row of broken windows in the hall.

A fire investigator was in attendance on Thursday morning and police forensics and CIB staff would be investigating the incident, he said.