School fire may be arson

A massive blaze that destroyed most of a Far North school yesterday is being treated as suspicious.

About 60 firefighters battled to save Te Kura Kaupapa Maori O Taumarere at Moerewa, near Kawakawa, after the alarm was raised yesterday afternoon.

A neighbour dialled 111 shortly before 4pm to report the fire and when fire crews arrived they found five classrooms well alight.

"It was one major block. Fire crews managed to cut the fire off. They've managed to save two classrooms in that block and then there's another classroom block and other outbuildings that have been saved," fire station officer Damian Southorn.

He said the classrooms were old wooden structures which burned very easily.

"They're old 1940s style open air classrooms. They're one of the biggest challenges we have in structure fires - older schools like that.

"It was big. It was a pretty hard battle. Very hot weather so crews worked extremely hard and they did very well."

By around 8.30pm the fire was under control. Most of the firemen were stood while the remainder dampened hot spots trying to save as much of the school's computers and furniture as possible.

An estimated 90 per cent of the school was destroyed.

Chief fire officer Wayne Martin said it was one of the biggest fires in the region in the last three years.

Police said later that the fire was being treated as suspicious.

Police and fire safety investigators were this morning picking their way through the remains for clues to how the blaze started.

- NZPA