Stables destroyed in suspicious Greymouth fire

The stables had no horses in them and the fire was extinguished. Photo: NZPA / Wayne Drought

A stable block at the Omoto Racecourse was razed by an early morning arson early today.

The Greymouth Volunteer Fire Brigade was called about 3.50am after a passerby on nearby State highway 7 noticed flames.

Fire chief Lee Swinburn said the stables were well ablaze when two fire appliances and a support vehicle arrived at the scene 10 minutes later.

Daylight showed that the gable end of the corrugated iron stables, built between the 1970s and 1980s, was all that remained standing on the site, just across the railway crossing.

"It had obviously been going for some time before we were notified," Mr Swinburn said.

"When we arrived half the building was on the ground."

With dry sawdust on the floors and dry framing in the building, the fire was well seated. The brigade had to deploy portable pumps to gain water from a nearby reservoir to fight the fire.

"We had it pretty much out within an hour," Mr Swinburn said.

The 20m-long stable had five or six individual stalls. It was not connected to mains power and there were no horses housed there.

The fire scene remained under police guard this morning, with an investigation under way by the Greymouth CIB and the West Coast Fire Service fire safety officer.

While the cause was not yet clear, Greymouth Jockey Club president Jill Bennington said no trainers were based at the course during the year but the loss of the stables was a nuisance in view of the busy summer racing season in December and January, when Omoto played host to up to 80 horses.

The stables were insured but rebuilding them in time for summer would be "a bit of a mission".

"It's still annoying because it's a very short period to get them replaced."

The stables were on leased Kiwi Rail land so the club would have to go through the State rail operator before rebuilding, she said.

- Greymouth Star