Police Scotland said a 24-year-old man had been charged with wilful fire-raising.

One person was assisted from the building during the fire and given precautionary treatment at the scene.

Det Insp Kenny McDonald said: "We know this fire has been devastating and has caused much distress to the local and wider community. Along with our partners we will continue to support our communities.

"I would like to reassure the public that we are not looking for anyone else in connection with the incident and officers will continue to patrol the area."

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Almost immediately after the fire, two Anglican inner-city churches - All Saints' Dunedin North and St Matthew's - reached out with offers for St Paul's to join them for worship last Sunday morning.

But the new Level 2 restrictions on gatherings of no more than 100 meant the Cathedral congregation couldn't take up either offer.

So a new offer from Monsignor John Harrison and Bishop Michael Dooley was accepted.

The St Joseph's congregation had space free for St Paul's to use the downtown St Joseph's Cathedral building on Sunday afternoon.

"We were overjoyed that St Joseph's reached out to us with such generosity," said the Very Rev Dr Tony Curtis of St Paul's.

He said the Anglicans and Catholics like to work together closely anyway, "we're all good friends, and it's a really lovely gesture."

The blaze broke out in the newly restored apse - the rounded section at the rear of the Octagon-based church - about 3.30 am on Tuesday 11 August.

The ceiling and roof of the building were fire-damaged, the crypt and part of the church were extensively water damaged.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand fire risk management officer Scott Lanauze has confirmed the cause was an unspecified electrical event.

The cost of the damage was still being assessed by insurers; however, Curtis said the crypt had suffered extensive water damage, and the roof above the altar would likely need replacing.

"What the fire hasn't got, water has."

"We'll probably try to close off the far end and put a tent over it, then gradually deconstruct the roof and put a new one on."

The organ was also partly water damaged and much of the building's electrics were no longer usable.

Source

• odt.co.nz
• odt.co.nz
• rnz.co.n
• stuff.co.nz
• anglicantaonga.org.nz
• Image: anglicantaonga.org.nz

The fire in a back porch of St Joseph's Catholic Church, on Stanners St, Eltham, is being treated as suspicious.

About 9 am, smoke was spotted coming out of the church by two men working on a house renovation across the road.

Neil Shotter immediately phoned Fire and Emergency, while Colin Ogle ran in his gumboots to tell firefighters who were putting out another fire near the Eltham Town Hall.

"We saw the fire brigade down there, then we noticed the smoke from the church, and it was blowing the other way," Ogle said.

The two suspicious fires in Eltham have kept emergency services busy.

Belinda Beets, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) Central shift manager, says fire appliances from Eltham, Kaponga and Stratford were called out to attend the fires.

Fire and Emergency specialist fire investigator Andrew Cotter said the cause of the church fire was not yet known, but confirmed it was being treated as suspicious.

The speed that the fire was contained saved the church from severe damage.

"It's a big timber building. If it had developed a bit, it would have been a different story, as far as we know that building doesn't have a fire alarm system and at this time on a Thursday was probably unoccupied."

The chief fire officer of the Eltham Volunteer Fire Brigade, Dave Waite, had upgraded the fire to a second alarm due to the size of the building, but it was quickly brought under control, he said.

A police spokesperson at the scene said police were working with FENZ staff.

The earlier fire was in a skip bin near the Eltham Town Hall.

Source

• stuff.co.nz
• nzherald.co.nz
• Image: nzherald.co.nz

A 39-year-old man has been arrested in connection with a fire at Nantes historic St Peter and St Paul cathedral.

Nantes' public prosecutor, Pierre Sennès, says the fire appears to have started from three different spots in the cathedral: one at the level of the organ, and one on each side of the nave.

Sennès says the national police are involved in the investigation at the french cathedral and a fire expert was travelling to Nantes.

"When we arrive at a place where a fire has taken place, when you see three separate fire outbreaks, it's a question of common sense, you open an investigation," he explains.

Tourists and residents watched in horror as firefighters battled the blaze at the cathedral, which has been described as a 'Gothic Jewel'.

The fire began in the early morning, with massive flames visible from outside the building. More than 100 firefighters brought it under control after several hours.

Fire Chief Laurent Ferlay says the damage from the weekend fire was contained.

Comparing the Nantes cathedral fire with last year's Notre Dame fire, Ferlay says it was "not a Notre-Dame scenario."

Ferlay says the damage is concentrated on the organ, "which appears to be completely destroyed. The platform it is situated on is very unstable and risks collapsing."

The Diocese of Nantes says there is also significant damage to the cathedral's 16th century rose window.

The fire "plunges the Christians of Loire Atlantique into a great sadness," the Diocese says.

"For them, the cathedral, an architectural masterpiece, is above all the mother church of the diocese."

"It is the place of gatherings where the important events of its history are lived."

The rector of the cathedral Fr. Hubert Champenois and the diocesan administrator Fr. François Renaud are calling on the Catholics of the diocese to unite in prayer and welcomed the help of firefighters, police, and civil society.

French president Emmanuel Macron on Saturday tweeted his support for the firefighters fighting the blaze.

"After Notre-Dame, the Saint-Pierre-et-Saint-Paul cathedral, in the heart of Nantes, is in flames. Support to our firefighters who take all risks to save this Gothic gem of the city of the Dukes," he wrote.

Construction on the cathedral began in 1434 on the site of a Romanesque cathedral and took 457 years until it was finished in 1891.

Source

• Independent Catholic News
• Catholic News Agency
• BBC
• Aljazeera
• Image: Sky News

A report by Fire and Emergency NZ, released to the Herald on Sunday under the Official Information Act, has classified the fire as "incendiary".

"The cause of this fire is believed to be the deliberate ignition of an accelerant of some kind by a person or persons unknown," the report concludes. Read more

Firefighters were called about 2.15am to the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Main South Rd, Greymouth, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) spokesman Mau Barbara said. Read more

It was being treated as suspicious and a fire investigator would be at the scene on Monday to determine the cause, Dunn said. Read more

The US Fire Department was called to the blaze at Freedom Ministries Church in the US state of Virginia on Sunday.

"Though odds were against us, God was not," the fire department wrote. Read more

in 2008 Providence Baptist Church was given the property by the remnants of Gospel Chapel Baptist Church.

But Pastor Eric Johnson believes toxic mould in the church has caused him to suffer permanent nerve damage and memory loss.

One of the conditions attached to the gift was was that the new church could never sell the property but could give it away. So they burned it down.

"It's taken us five years to get to this decision," Johnson said. "We had spent over $50,000 on the building and lost all that.

To get back to where we were (with a healthy building) and to pay my medical bills would cost up to three-quarters of a million dollars." Continue reading

A big community celebration took place on Sunday place when Bishop Steve Lowe opened the new $400,000 chapel.

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Sited next to Hangarau Marae, the chapel's simple lines are based on a traditional Maori wharenui or meeting house.

Parish priest Father Mark Field said locals were delighted with the chapel.

The Church includes a feature window at the sanctuary end so the congregation could enjoy lovely views across the harbour and the donation of a contemporary Madonna and child.

Painted by Bonnie Casey the new painting is significant because the original painting of a Maori Madonna and child was destroyed in the 2014 fire.

Field said police never found the perpetrator of the fire.

Who ever it was removed the vestments and chalice from the church and left them on the grass outside, he told the NZ Herald.

Source

• m.nzherald.co.nz
• Image: nzherald.co.nz/Facebook

He also ruled there was not enough evidence to suggest the fire had been started deliberately in the first place.

After the ruling, Mischeski, who was in court to hear the judgment, thanked Courtney.

Her lawyer Jo Woodcock was also "really pleased" with the outcome and said it had been difficult for Mischeski to have been accused of being involved in destroying the church, a place which had been a big part of her life.

Mischeski was arrested and charged with arson by New Plymouth police only hours after a blaze gutted the Brooklands Rd church and damaged the neighbouring St Pius X School library.

Outside of court, Father Craig Butler said while he was pleased with the ruling, parishioners of St Philomena's were still sad about what had happened.

Following the fire, the church was demolished in July 2014.

"I continue to grieve with them for the loss of the church," he said.

Courtney heard reports from New Zealand Fire Service's Matt Crabtree, Grant Weavers who acted on behalf of the church's insurer and Ken Legat who reviewed the case for Woodcock.

He said while the three men agreed the fire had started in the children's room in the church building, none found evidence of an accelerant being used.

While Crabtree and Weavers believed the fire had been deliberate, Legat believed the cause of the fire was undetermined.

While Crabtree and Weavers both ruled out an electrical cause for the fire in their reports, Courtney said both men admitted under cross examination at the hearing that it could have been a possible factor.

He said reports from church goers about problems at the building, including a malfunctioning ceiling fan, flickering lights and blown fuses were not investigated and an independent electrical inspection was not requested by police.

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

The Bowen St Baptist Church community centre was torched in January 2011 by Feilding firebug Richard David Elliott, a security guard tasked with patrolling the town's CBD between 9pm and 3am each night.

Elliott was jailed for seven years after lighting a string of fires, including two at the church, which caused nearly $1.8 million worth of damage.

"Human nature can be quite fickle, and there were circumstances that caused this young guy to do what he did," Hince said.

"Now what he did was very wrong, and he knows that, but he found he was just doing it, and couldn't stop, and I think we're all susceptible to that type of thing.

"What has come out of that is he has shown true remorse for what he has done and, as a church, we have acknowledged our forgiveness towards him."

Source

• Stuff.co.nz
• Image: Stuff.co.nz

Fire fighters were unable to save the multimillion dollar building in Apia. However they were able to contain the fire from spreading to nearby businesses in town and family homes.

Local reports say the fire may have started from a mosquito coil used by a night guard man.

However a fire senior officer says the real cause should be found after their inquiries.

Source

• Radio New Zealand International
• Image: Bebo