A suspicious fire in a vacant house at Kaitangata on Saturday night is being investigated.
The fire started about 11.30pm, and was attended by crews from Kaitangata and Balclutha, who took less than an hour to bring the blaze under control.
Detective Constable Craig Dinnissen, of Balclutha, said the house had been vacant for the past six months, was in a rundown state and electricity had been disconnected.
Two fires had been set with material inside the building.
One of the fires was extinguished by a burst water pipe, but the second fire took, causing moderate damage to the rear of the house, he said.
Det Const Dinnissen said the house was now in a dangerous state, and might need to be demolished.
The scene is being investigated by fire safety officers and police would like to hear from anyone with information.
A burning four-wheel-drive vehicle was extinguished by members of the Lake Hawea Fire Brigade, yesterday, after it caught fire outside a lake-front house.
The fire brigade's four officers rushed to Flora Dora Pde to put out the "fully involved" fire in the Ford Explorer vehicle, Station Officer Nick Davies said.
The fire was not thought to be suspicious and probably ignited from spilt flammable liquid in the back of the vehicle, he said.
The Lake Hawea Fire Brigade was also called to extinguish a barbecue fire, after a faulty gas hose started a blaze at a Maungawera Valley property on Saturday evening.
Fire Brigade Chief Doug Brenssell advised people to check their barbecue gas bottle connections, to ensure they were not faulty, especially if a barbecue had not been used in a while.
