Church fire being treated as suspicious: Three big fires in Auckland within five days

The fire ripped through the building. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A huge fire that engulfed a heritage-listed church hall in Auckland last night is being treated as suspicious by fire investigators.

Specialist fire investigator Nick Linton told the Herald today that after inspecting the devastation at St James Presbyterian Church hall in Mt Eden, he had deemed the fire to be of suspicious nature.

Up to 15 fire engines and dozens of crew members worked to bring the inferno under control after they were alerted just after 5pm last night.

The church hall, which was closed by an Auckland Council dangerous building notice in 2012, was believed to have been abandoned and no one was inside.

Linton said, as a result of this, all amenities to the hall had been stopped – so there was no electricity or water.

"From what I understand, over the years there had been various squatters and homeless people, vandalism and break ins," he said.

"So when we look at it we think, well okay, there is no power to the building so that eliminates the possibility of an electrical fire; it was a beautiful sunny day so there was no lightning involved - therefore it kind of only leaves human intervention.

"Given all of these factors, and from what we found at the scene, we are deeming it suspicious."

The St James Presbyterian church hall on fire on the corner of View Rd and Esplanade Rd, Mt Eden. Photo / Brett Phibbs

A police spokesman said police inquiries were ongoing and they were continuing to work with fire safety investigators on the matter.

The St James Church hall was built in 1885, while the larger St James Church was built in 1900. Both are owned by the Presbyterian Church Property Trustees.

Trustee executive officer Kos van Lier said they were relieved that no one was hurt in the fire.

"We are extremely grateful that the quick response of the fire brigade meant that the historic church and neighbouring properties did not suffer significant damage," he said.

"A ruling by the Environment Court recently agreed that the hall was dangerous and should be demolished. However, we are saddened that this fire has meant that some of the heritage fabric that would have been saved in a controlled demolition is now lost.

"We understand from members of the parish that Auckland Council will try and bring the building down today to ensure that it poses no risk to either people or property in the vicinity.

"We will wait for the results of the fire investigation to determine the cause of the blaze."

A church spokeswoman said it was aware that the building had been broken into on a number of occasions.

In 2014, developer View West wanted to build several apartments within the St James church precinct, but it was blocked by council objecting to the demolition of the hall.

The trustees were now looking to have the agreement for sale and purchase that is in place for the property completed, the spokeswoman said.

The St James Church hall fire was the third big fire in Auckland over the past five days.

Smoke streaming from Nola's Orchard on West Coast Rd in Glen Eden. Photo / Supplied

The fiery devastation began on December 26 when West Auckland fruit and vegetable store Nola's Orchard was gutted by a blaze about 7.10am.

The fire at the 14m x 14m building on West Coast Rd was "well-involved" when crews arrived.

The store is currently owned by Brian Nola and son Ivan. Ivan is the third generation of his family to run the business which opened in the 1930s.

An initial investigation into the fire indicates an electrical fault in the stand-alone fridges where the meat is stored.

It's now going to have to be pulled down and rebuilt.

The next day, on December 27, up to 50,000 chickens were killed in a fire which burnt part of a West Auckland poultry farm to the ground.

Firefighters were called to Stoney Creek farm on Opanaku Rd about 1.30am and arrived to find three hatchery sheds ablaze. The sheds measured about 150m x 50m.

Firefighters battle the fire at Stoney Creek farm on Opanaku Rd, Henderson Valley. Photo / SNPA, Hayden Woodward

Nine fire crews worked to put out the blaze until about 4am.

The three sheds were burned to the ground and none of the chickens in the hatcheries which caught fire survived the blaze.

Only 1000 birds, which were in a separate hatchery well away from the fire, survived.

The farm was a contract chicken supplier for poultry giant Tegel.

Investigator Linton said the cause of the fire is still undetermined at this stage.

"The reality of fire is that it destroys a large part of the evidence but we do what we can to try and get down to the cause but it is not always possible," he said.

"We have deemed it undetermined for the time being, but what I can tell you is the origin of the fire was in the first shed as you come in the driveway.

"There were four sheds and it spread from the first one, to the second and the third. The forth was untouched."

When questioned about whether there was a possible link between the two West Auckland fires, Linton said, for the time being, he couldn't draw a connection between the two incidents.

Other incidents:

Firefighters in the Far North have also been working to contain a substantial blaze in rural bush.

Several crews at Pipiwai Rd at Matawaia, south of Kaikohe, are into their fifth day of trying to contain the flames.

Shift commander Daniel Nicholson said yesterday that the fire is burning through 60 to 100ha of bush.

Meanwhile, a person was rescued from a burning boat near the shoreline at Auckland's Waiheke Island yesterday.

Police were informed around 7am of a fire on board a boat in Hauraki Gulf about 40m from the beach at Hooks Bay.

At least five people, including two children, were reported to have been on board the boat and had evacuated the craft. All were wearing life jackets.

A person suffering from smoke inhalation was taken to hospital by the Westpac Rescue Helicopter.

The fire was thought to have been started in the engine room.