Playground fire at Whakatāne school treated as suspicious

A playground at a Whakatāne primary school has been engulfed in flames.

A Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman said they were inundated with calls to a playground fire at Apanui School about 8pm last night.

He said the playground was fully involved in flames when crews arrived but was quickly contained.

The fire was being treated as suspicious.

READ MORE:
• 'The flames were 10-feet high': Fire in Government Gardens in Rotorua
•Bay of Plenty fire crews busy after numerous Guy Fawkes callouts

• Person burnt after fire at Ngongotahā home
• Rubbish fire causes Te Ngae building to catch alight

Two fire appliances attended.

A post on the Apanui School Facebook page said: "Our senior playground has been deliberately set on fire tonight."

The school thanked emergency services for their work in containing the fire.