The cause of a blaze at an abandoned two-storey house on the site of an old psychiatric hospital is being investigated this morning.
West Coast firefighters were called to the scene just north of Hokitika, where the Seaview Asylum once stood, just before 1am, Fire and Emergency NZ spokesman Riwai Grace said.
The building was "well ablaze" when crews arrived.
A second alarm was activated and volunteer firefighters were called in to help fight the blaze, which took more than hour to bring under control.
Fire investigators and police will be at the scene today to determine the cause of the fire.
