A fire that destroyed an empty meat warehouse in Napier early today is being treated as suspicious.
Fire crews rushed to the building on Waitangi Rd about 3.30am. Five fire trucks were called in as the blaze ripped through the 200 x 300sq m warehouse for about three hours.
The fire comes nine days after a huge industrial inferno destroyed Hawk Packaging in Hastings.
Hawke's Bay Fire Service Area Commander Chris Nicoll, who attended the fire, said the warehouse was 90 percent destroyed and was "unoccupied and unpowered''.
"So at this stage it looks a bit odd,'' Mr Nicoll said.
"But of course we won't know anything for certain until we've made a determination on the cause.''
Crews initially struggled with local water supplies to fight the blaze but managed to tap into aquifer bores. "We were able to contain it to the one building. A slight wind from the west also helped us out and kept the fire from threatening a nearby building.''
Fire safety officers were now at the property investigating.
The Fire Service was also called to the Pan Pac pulp mill this morning where they used thermal imaging equipment in an attempt to locate the source of a suspected hot spot. The mill remained operational.
A woolshed in Pongaroa, east of Dannevirke, burnt to the ground yesterday after it was engulfed by fire.
- Mark Story of Hawke's Bay Today
