Another suspicious fire at Kaitaia's old bowling club

Another fire, the third this year, shortly before the fire brigade arrived on Thursday evening. Photo / Supplied

The Kaitaia Fire Brigade was back at the old Kaitaia Bowling Club pavilion in Matthews Ave on Thursday evening for the third time since an electrical fault sparked a fire on the upper floor in October.

All three subsequent fires have been deemed suspicious - yesterday police confirmed they had some idea of who was responsible but were not yet in a position to take action.

The Police Youth Aid section was continuing inquiries.

The first of the fires, on March 7, resulted in further major damage to the upper storey of the club. The second was lit on the ground floor, causing minor damage, while last week's, which was also extinguished by firefighters before it got out of control, was set in cushions on the ground floor.

Fire risk management officer Gary Beer said fire authorities were now working with the Far North District Council and the owners of the building, believed to be a couple living in the US, with the aim of having it demolished on the grounds of public safety.

Police are also investigating a spate of other suspicious fires in Kaitaia, including at least two in the Parkdale Reserve, off Allen Bell Drive.

The latest incident occurred on Tuesday evening last week, in the same area where a bamboo thicket growing over a wooden fence was set alight the previous Sunday afternoon. In that case residents saw children trying to light a fire and called 111 immediately.

The same Sunday morning, March 21, saw an attempt to light a fire in a concrete amenities/storage building on the Kaitaia A&P Showgrounds. Firefighters detected a strong smell of petrol when they arrived but damage was minimal. The only action required of the brigade was to ventilate the building.

Meanwhile, traffic was stopped in both directions on Friday afternoon while the Kaitaia Fire Brigade fought a blaze on a steep bank on SH1, cutting immediately south of the Fairburn Rd intersection.

There isn't much of the upper storey of the old Kaitaia Bowling Club pavilion left after four fires, and the bottom floor is also now badly damaged. Photo / Supplied

The initial blaze did not take long to get under control, one lane of the highway re-opening shortly after the appliances arrived.

Chief fire officer Craig Rogers said the major problem was at the top of the bank, where at one stage flames threatened a house. The home was not damaged but crews were at the scene for "a good couple of hours". He had no idea how the fire started but a vegetation fire about a kilometre north had been started the day before by someone who lit a bag of rubbish and threw it over the bridge.