Firefighters quick to save Northland school after arson attack

DELIBERATE: Firefighters at the scene of Saturday's Kaikohe Christian School blaze. PHOTO/SUPPLIED

Kaikohe Christian School has been damaged in an arson attack.

The blaze, the latest in a series of suspicious fires around the Mid North town, has prompted a warning from the town's fire chief about leaving rubbish bins or paper next to buildings.

Passers-by noticed the fire at the Mangakahia Rd school just after 4pm on Saturday.

Firefighters from the Kaikohe and Okaihau brigades were quick to arrive, confining the blaze to an exterior wall and the roof of the administration building. Water damage inside was minor.

Kaikohe fire chief Bill Hutchinson said the fire started after rubbish bins were pushed up against the wall of the building and set alight.

"It was lucky it was during the day and a few people noticed it. We managed to knock it before it got too extreme," he said.

Firefighters had to remove part of the roof after the fire spread into the eaves.

On Sunday, the Kaikohe brigade responded to another blaze, in bushes on Thorpe Rd about 5.10pm.

Police had spoken to a number of children about that fire.

The past few weeks has seen a series of fires lit in paper or rubbish bins pushed up against buildings.

Mr Hutchinson urged business owners not to leave bins, paper or other flammables close to their buildings, and to empty outdoor rubbish bins daily.

The Kaikohe school opened as usual yesterday.