Dunedin police are on the hunt for multiple firebugs after three separate arsons overnight in the city.
The most serious of the three was at a Countdown supermarket in the central city when a fire was lit outside the building shortly before 10pm.
Detective Sergeant Malcolm Inglis said
it appeared methylated spirits or mineral turpentine had been used to light the fire.
The supermarket was open at the time and people's lives were put at risk.
"A person was seen leaving the area prior to it - we'd like to speak to him."
A passing police patrol spotted the blaze and alerted the fire service.
Only minor damage was sustained.
"There's no real motive that we can see," Mr Inglis said.
The suspect was described as a male of average height, with an arctic-type jacket with fur around the hood.
The second fire was also late at night at a flat in the student area of Castle St.
Mr Inglis said it was lit at the rear of a flat vacant for the summer, where building materials were piled for another flat being built at the rear.
A passer-by spotted the fire and notified police.
A group of youths were seen leaving the scene and one was seen inside the flat, apparently trying to get a fire going.
Mr Inglis said the flat sustained only exterior damage and no surrounding buildings were damaged.
The final fire was lit in a hedge in south Dunedin and police suspected another group of youths.
"It's a concern. If either of these first two fires got established they would cause serious damage - hundreds of thousands."
Mr Inglis said police did not believe the three arsons were linked.
- NZPA
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