KEY POINTS:
A fire that destroyed an unoccupied house in South Taranaki early yesterday may have been deliberately lit and fuelled by petrol, the Fire Service says.
The house in Waitara, 16km northeast of New Plymouth, was believed to have gang connections.
Firefighters were called to the address on the corner of High and Harris Streets around 2.30am but the house was well ablaze and could not be saved.
Police and fire safety officers inspected the site yesterday.
The female tenant had been away for several days and nobody was in the house at the time of the fire, Detective Sergeant Greg Gray told the Taranaki Daily News.
"It hasn't been determined how the fire started yet, but it is definitely suspicious."
The woman may have some gang associations, he said.
Waitara fire chief Dennis Crow said the fire was fuelled by accelerant.
"It was just a ball of flames. There were flames leaping out of the windows going 20 foot in the air.
"There are lots of holes in the floor and it looks as though somebody has gone through with petrol and set it alight," he told the newspaper.
- NZPA
