Members of St Therese’s Catholic church in Bethlehem, in the Bay of Plenty, New Zealand, are grieving the loss of the church, which burnt down in suspicious circumstances.
The blaze tore through the building late last Thursday night and police and the fire service are investigating its cause.
Erana and Peter Bidois were watching a movie at a relative’s house opposite the building when they noticed an orange flame coming from one of the windows about 11pm.
“Within seconds the whole thing just went up in flames. The heat from it was just crazy,” Mrs Bidois said.
“It was silent but all you could hear was just popping, the windows popping.
“It was huge. The whole thing just looked like a ball of fire.”
The Maori carvings and all the Maori taonga in the building have been destroyed there
Local kaumatua Karora Smith said the community was still coming to terms with the loss.
It was not just the church community but the wider community who used the building that would be affected, he said.
Mr Smith said the chapel was built about 40 years ago when the congregation outgrew the small church building at the marae.
Tauranga Police CIB Detective Caroyln Crawford confirmed police are treating the fire as suspicious and have scene guards in places as detectives investigate the area.
Carolyn says police investigating the cause of the fire are keen to hear from anyone who may have seen any suspicious people or vehicles in the area at the time.
Anyone with information is to contact Tauranga police on 07 577 4300 or anonymously on 0800 Crimestoppers and quote file number 140207/5050.
Source
- Bay of Plenty Times
- Sunlive
- Image: SunLive