Police deal with suspicious Waipukurau fire

Investigators arrive at the scene of a suspicious fire in Waipukurau on Thursday.

A fire that started in a shed and destroyed a Waipukurau house early on Thursday morning has been deemed suspicious.

Waipukurau deputy fire chief Glen Millar said two trucks from Waipukurau, one from Waipawa, one from Otane and one from Hastings were called to the fire at the Holyrood Tce property at 12.13am and the last truck left the scene at 5am.

“The fire has started in the shed, which was being used as a sleepout,” Millar said.

“Upon our arrival, the occupants had evacuated the house and the shed. There were no injuries.”

He said the building had a brick exterior but the property had been totally lost to the fire, both the house and shed.

He said the first fire officer to arrive was senior station officer Peter Keenan, who quickly got the fire under control with his crew.

“Being a back-section property, there are a lot of properties surrounding the building that was on fire,” Millar said.

He said the fire was being treated as suspicious at this stage.

One neighbour said she saw the property well ablaze just after midnight and a “massive” plume of smoke.

Specialist vehicles from Napier and Hastings were called initially, but not required.

A police spokeswoman said they maintained a scene guard overnight.

“Police will be making further inquiries,” she said.

A fire investigator and Police CIB were on the scene on Thursday morning.

Arrest made after woman approached

Police have arrested a 22-year-old male after a woman was allegedly approached on the stopbank by Russell Park on Monday.

The incident occurred about 7.30pm on Monday.

Police believe it was an isolated incident and there is no reason for the public to be concerned.

Officer in charge, Sergeant Neil Baker, of Central Hawke’s Bay police, said: “The female victim did all the right things, notifying police who were able to respond quickly and follow some good leads.

“We also received a lot of information from the community which was very useful in our investigation. The male will appear in court this week.”

Drugs and stolen property found

Last week, while searching for a wanted male, police came across an alleged drug-dealing operation at a Waipukurau address. A 34-year-old female was arrested and will appear in Waipukurau District Court charged with possession of cannabis for supply.

A search warrant was executed in relation to a dwelling Burglary in Totara St, Waipukurau. The majority of the stolen property was recovered in the search and a 15-year-old male and 16-year-old female have been spoken to by police.