A suspicious fire in an Ashburton garage where a family of three were sleeping was reported by a distressed child in the dead of night.
Firefighters were called to a Porter Street, Netherby house at 2.49am. The caller, described as a child or young person by police and fire services, initially reported injuries.
However, ultimately nobody was injured. Police were brought in at 3.42am.
Ashburton fire brigade chief Alan Burgess believed three people were sleeping in the garage. Mr Burgess said fire investigators were on their way to the scene of the blaze from 8.30 Sunday morning.
Fire service shift manager Riwai Grace it is not yet known what started the blaze.
