Firefighters are dampening down hot spots after a block of shops caught fire in Invercargill this morning.
Southern fire communications shift manager Karl Patterson said a call about the blaze at the shops in suburban Windsor was received about 4am.
"My understanding is that of the eight shops, approximately half were involved in fire."
One fire truck remained at the site of the fire and a fire investigator would be looking into the cause of the blaze later this morning, he said.
The blaze is being treated as suspicious, along with another overnight - a vehicle set on fire in Gladstone.
