KEY POINTS:
A fire that razed an historic south Waikato Maori meeting house yesterday is still being treated as suspicious.
The fire destroyed the Tamateapokai whenua meeting house on the Pouakani marae in Mangakino about 7am.
Historic carvings and irreplaceable photographs of ancestors were destroyed in the fierce blaze.
Mangakino volunteer fire chief John Kelso told NZPA police and fire safety officers worked at the scene today.
"They're still investigating. They have taken samples and they are sending them away for confirmation to see if there are any accelerants and things like that."
Fire appliances from Tokoroa, Taupo and Rotorua joined Mangakino volunteer firefighters to fight the fire.
Mr Kelso said yesterday morning's fog was so thick firefighters could not see the blaze until they were about 100m away.
"It was huge and yet nobody could see it."
Both the smoke and the glow were masked by the smoke and hindered firefighters, Mr Kelso said.
"I would say it had been burning for a long, long time. We estimate it could have burning for up to an hour, an hour and a half before we were notified."
Rotorua deputy fire chief fire officer John Booth said it was the third marae fire in Waikato in 18 months. It was an absolute tragedy but reinforced the need for sprinklers and fire protection.
- NZPA
