Two suspicious fires in Canterbury

Photo/ file

Fire services have put out two suspicious fires in Rangiora, Canterbury, in the early hours of Saturday morning.

Crews were called to a fire at 3.10am at the Maungatere Alternate Education Centre, where two classrooms were found to be on fire.

Three trucks attended, two from Rangiora and one from Woodend.

"Two classrooms have been extensively damaged in that fire which we're treating as suspicious," said fire spokeswoman Lyn Crosson.

"While they were still at that fire another fire was discovered in the next street in a storage shed."

A truck attending the first incident was sent to put the storage shed fire out.

Due to the short distance between the two sites the fires were believed to be linked and both were being treated as suspicious, Crosson said.

Fire safety will be attending this morning.