Three men in court after Henderson fire

Geoff's Emporium was gutted by the fire. Photo / Paul Estcourt

Three men have appeared in court charged in connection with the alleged arson and burglary of a west Auckland discount store gutted in a fire early yesterday.

A 17-year-old was arrested and charged with arson and burglary, after he was found with stolen property from Geoff's Emporium in the suburb of Henderson, while an 18-year-old and a 16-year-old were charged with burglary.

The 17-year-old appeared in Waitakere District Court today and was bailed to reappear on August 19.

The 18-year-old was held in custody overnight and appeared in Waitakere District Court today and was released on bail to reappear on August 26.

The 16-year-old has been bailed and will appear in youth court on August 17.

The store was burning fiercely when firefighters arrived about 1am yesterday.

Police told NZPA they recovered property valued at $1000 from two of the accused.

The 18-year-old was apprehended at the scene, while the 17-year-old was arrested after police with a search warrant found stolen property at his house.

Fire safety officer Ray Coleman confirmed to NZPA the fire was started deliberately.

Mr Coleman said he had a reasonable idea of how it started but could not elaborate now that the matter was before the courts.

"It was a very severe fire.

"The actual fire was confined to Geoff's Emporium. The heat and smoke had penetrated virtually through the entire length of the factory, and there's at least another four businesses within the building which were affected," Mr Coleman said.

Sixty firefighters and 14 fire trucks battled for about two hours to contain the blaze and stop it spreading to adjoining buildings.

No one was hurt.

- NZPA