Pupils and teachers were treated for smoke inhalation yesterday and police are investigating surveillance footage after a suspicious fire at a Dunedin high school.
Police say they are following a ''strong line of inquiry'' over the blaze.
Fire appliances and crew from Dunedin and Willowbank were called to Logan Park High School, in Butts Rd, at 9.03am, Fire Service southern communications shift manager Riwai Grace said.
Dunedin Fire Station Senior Station Officer Craig Geddes said a toilet paper dispenser was set on fire in a girls' toilet.
''They've set fire to the paper and that has subsequently ignited the plastic dispenser and then it has taken off up the wall.''
The fire was being treated as suspicious.
''The fire was completely unnecessary and a deliberate act by someone who needs to think about their actions.''
When the crews arrived, a school block was smoke-logged and crew in breathing apparatus used a hose reel in the hallway to extinguish the fire, he said.
The fire was ''significant'' and the cubicle severely damaged. Smoke had caused damage to the rest of the block.
The spread of the fire was restricted by the building materials used in the toilet block, such as tiles.
''If it had been a different building material, it certainly would have had the potential to be much worse.''
Teachers had tried to extinguish the blaze before crews arrived.
''We don't encourage people to fight fires; we encourage them to evacuate, to get out and stay out and call the fire brigade.''
When the crews arrived, the pupils and staff had been evacuated and accounted for, and the school deserved praise for the swift action, he said.
School principal Jane Johnson said two pupils and four staff were taken to Dunedin Hospital where they were treated for minor smoke inhalation.
The pupils treated had gone to the toilet block to offer help, and a guidance counsellor had entered with a fire extinguisher.
The pupils and staff returned from hospital to school before noon, she said.
The school would review the staff attempt to fight the fire.
Pupils' movements in the hallway outside the toilet block had been monitored with a camera and the footage was given to police.
Senior Sergeant Dave Scott, of the Southern District Command Centre, said police were following a ''strong line of inquiry involving one person''.
