A blaze which tore through two buildings at a former Dunedin school has been deemed suspicious.
The Fire Service and police investigation into the blaze at the former Kenmure Intermediate School, in Kaikorai Valley Rd, stalled yesterday morning after it was deemed too unsafe for authorities to continue.
Firefighters were called to the blaze shortly before 6am.
Appliances from Dunedin, Lookout Point, Roslyn and St Kilda, as well as a command unit, responded to the fire which gutted two derelict buildings at the site.
A Fire Service spokesman said Public Health South was also notified and it would assess the wrecked buildings for asbestos contamination.
Testing was ongoing, he said.
A police spokeswoman said Dunedin CIB and a specialist fire investigator from the Fire Service were investigating the cause of the blaze.
No-one had been arrested or charged, but the fire was thought suspicious, she said.
The Fire Service spokesman said units from Mosgiel and Ravensbourne had been put on standby to respond to any other incidents in the city while most of its firefighting resources tackled the blaze.
Firefighters extinguished the fire with the assistance of a turntable and ladder unit from Dunedin Central.
"Police and a fire investigator attended and the fire was handed over to them," he said.
"The building was deemed too dangerous to continue with the investigation. The building was left in the care of the owner. He was made aware of his risk and responsibility."
The school closed in 1996.
There had been plans to turn the site into a 44-section gated community.
However, those stalled in 2013 after its then owner, Rodney Hogg, and the Dunedin City Council disagreed over a bridge to access the area.
Mr Hogg sold it in 2014 to Dynes Transport.Attempts to contact Dynes Transport chief executive Peter Dynes yesterday were unsuccessful.
