A fire which gutted a Northland home is being treated as suspicious, a fire investigator says.
Police and fire were called to a major house fire at Gorge Rd, Maungaturoto, 40 minutes south of Whangarei, about 2.30pm yesterday. When fire trucks arrived, the bottom storey of the two-storey home was "well involved in fire" a fire communications spokesman said.
Four fire appliances - two from Maungaturoto, one from Kaiwaka and one from Waipu - spent about two hours at the scene dousing flames.
Fire investigator Terry Baylis was at the scene with police CIB and a dog handler.
"It looks like it'll need to be demolished. It's being treated as suspicious, it looks like someone has unlawfully entered the house and started the fire," said Mr Baylis. The house was unoccupied and no neighbouring properties were threatened.
