Police are investigating a fire which razed an historic hall at the top of Okaihau Hill yesterday.
When neighbours were woken by the blaze about 1.50am the derelict, single-storey building was already burning fiercely.
Okaihau fire chief Andrew Graham said all the volunteers could do was make sure the fire did not spread to a neighbouring house about 10m away.
"When we got there the roof had collapsed and it was history. It was tinder dry and would've gone up in minutes," he said.
It was 6am before the blaze was fully extinguished and the volunteers could go home. One crew from Okaihau and two from Kaikohe attended.
There was no power connected to the building. The fire is being treated as arson. Police and a fire investigator were at the scene yesterday looking for clues.