Principal devastated after apparent school arson

The principal of a Hamilton high school targeted by a suspected arsonist stood among the school's charred remains this morning and said he was devastated.

The blaze at Melville High School early today gutted two classrooms and caused smoke damage in six others by the time firefighters arrived.

Principal Clive Hamill said the gutted classrooms housed 60 of the schools computers.

"The worst thing is the destruction of students' work and the vast teaching resources -- all gone," he said from the scene.

"I don't know who did this, but it's just such a destructive action really and it's devastating for staff and students, which is really sad."

He said the computers were also used for community education programmes in the evenings and weekends. "It has an impact on staff and students, but it's the whole Melville community."

Fire safety officer Dave Jenkins said the fire was certainly suspicious.

"Earlier in the night there was another fire at the school in a different block -- it's too coincidental," he said.

Mr Jenkins said 12 firefighters remained at the school this morning. He said they have finished dampening down hot spots and would now begin a thorough investigation.

More answers about the exact cause of the blaze should be known towards the end of the day.

Mr Hamill said the school's 630 students would be returning to school after their holidays on July 17.

"They're all back in 13 days -- the goal is it will be almost school as usual for students when they return."

He was meeting with Ministry of Education officials, school board members and staff this morning to devise a short term management strategy.

The ministry is responsible for property and insurance.

Hamilton Fire Service deputy chief Martyn Berryman said the school did not have a sprinkler system, which would have limited the damage.

The fire was a warning to schools and other businesses about the value of getting them installed.

"They do cost a bit to install but the cost of that compared to the cost of fixing unusable buildings is small," Mr Berryman said. "If there was a sprinkler system here the only damage would be a bit of water damage."

- NZPA