Thieves turn to arson

Ruapehu Bulletin, Volume 10, Issue 473, 16 February 1993, Page 1

Thieves turn to arson

Thieving from Waimarino houses became more sinister last Friday, when a holiday house on Raetihi Road, Ohakune was torched. Neighbours saw smoke coming from the house at about 4.50pm on Friday. One called the fire brigade while another moved cattle that had been grazing in the house grounds. The Ohakune Volunteer Fire Brigade attended with two appliances, the rescue vehicle and the tanker. Two fire fighters in breathing apparatus searched the house for occupants. The brigade took about three quarter's of an hour ' to put out the blaze, said , police constable Stuart Ngatai. He said afterwards they found that tomato j sauce had been spread i around the kitchen and that it had been generally i trashed. , Brigade members found

that there were at least two starting points to the fire, leading them to call the police to check the possibility of arson. Police found that the thieves had used a wooden pump cover to gain access through a window and a fire safety officer from Wanganui confirmed on Saturday that the fire had been deliberately lit. Constable Ngatai said the fire posed a threat to the lives of not only the volunteer brigade members who attended the fire, but to residents of the neighbouring houses which were quite close. He said police were very concerned at this escalation in the activity of burglars and asked that anyone with information that may help police, such as information about any suspicious activity in the area around 4-5pm on Friday, to please contact them.