Suspicious Fire - CathNews New Zealand

Two church fires in Christchurch suspicious

denisohagan — Mon, 07 Sep 2020 08:02:59 +0000

Two church fires broke out in Christchurch early Monday morning and authorities are treating the circumstances behind the blazes as suspicious.

A cafe in New Brighton also caught fire at about 5.30am.

Fire crews were first called to the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Burwood just after 3 am.

Less than half an hour later, at 3.30 am, fire crews were called to the Cardboard Cathedral, on Hereford St, after an automatic alarm went off - triggering an alert to fire authorities.

There was a small fire in a backroom.

A third fire occurred at the Beach Road Cafe in New Brighton early Monday morning.

Fire and Emergency say the large Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witness building has extensive damage, and three crews were needed to put it out.

A resident who lives opposite the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses said she and her family woke to see large flames and fire and police crews.

She was worried the blaze would spread to the houses beside the church.

"I'm surprised that there's so much [of the church] left," she said.

Southern fire communications said the fire at the Cardboard Cathedral was out by the time staff arrived at the scene.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesperson said it was unusual to have two church fires within half an hour of one another.

In a statement, police said they are seeking information on three suspicious fires in Christchurch in the early hours of the morning.

"Police were alerted to three separate fires at the Kingdom Hall of Jehovah's Witnesses in Parklands, the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral (Cardboard Cathedral) on Hereford Street and the Beach Road Cafe in New Brighton."

Police and Fire and Emergency staff attended all scenes on Monday morning to conduct scene examinations.

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Two church fires in Christchurch suspicious

Fourth fire in five years damages school in New Caledonia

admin — Mon, 05 Mar 2018 07:04:23 +0000

A fire has destroyed two buildings at Père Guéneau Vocational High School at Bourail in New Caledonia just one week after the beginning of the school year.

It is the fourth fire at the Catholic school in the past five years.

The police are investigating the cause of the fire - arson is suspected.

One of the buildings housed a staff room and the computer equipment for the school.

The second building contained the Centre of Culture and Knowledge which was opened last year.

The Centre is the only one of its kind in a school in New Caledonia.

Karen Cazeau, director of the Diocesan Directorate of Catholic Education (DDEC), said it was a place where all the young people, the educators and the teachers constantly rubbed shoulders.

Cazeau said she was there to see the damage and to support the team.

"It's a feeling of discouragement that predominates. There have already been fires in this high school, it's sad."

18 months ago the repair of two fire-damaged buildings cost about CFP40 million ($NZ 560,000).

Père Guéneau high school has 364 students from all over the country, more than 60% of whom are boarders.

The boarders were allowed to return to the school on Sunday, and classes resumed for all students on Tuesday.

The DDEC has 71 schools: forty-eight kindergartens and primary schools, thirteen colleges and eight vocational high schools.

In all, nearly 14,000 students are in school.

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Fourth fire in five years damages school in New Caledonia

Arrests made after Sacred Heart Girls' College fire

admin — Mon, 13 Nov 2017 06:50:45 +0000

Two 19-year-old women have been arrested following the fire that tore through Sacred Heart Girls' College in Hamilton on Friday night.

The pair will appear in Hamilton District Court on Wednesday charged with arson.

Fireworks were found at the scene of the fire on Saturday. Continue reading

Read about the fire

Arrests made after Sacred Heart Girls' College fire

Bay of Plenty Church destroyed by fire

admin — Mon, 10 Feb 2014 18:30:44 +0000

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 Church destroyed by fire