Suspicious fire near Whakatane school
Two structure fires in the Eastern Bay have kept fire services busy, including one next to a primary school.
A house fire next to Matata Public School, on Pollen St, is being investigated by Whakatane police after the cause was deemed suspicious.
Whakatane Fire Service fire risk management officer Jon Rewi said the house had been empty for about five years.
He said the Fire Service was called in the early hours of Sunday to putout the blaze, managing to save most of the house.
On Monday morning the Taneatua Volunteer Fire Brigade also spent most of their morning putting out a fire in a hay barn.
Mr Rewi said the cause was not known, but it was most likely caused by combustion.
The fire started about 5am on a White Pine Bush Rd farm.
No-one was injured in the fires.
