A historic Presbyterian church in Napier, New Zealand, has been destroyed by fire, prompting a police investigation amid reports of two other suspicious fires in the city. A 47-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with one of the incidents.
According to a report by 1News, St Paul’s Presbyterian Church on Tennyson Street was engulfed in flames at around 1 am on Monday. Fire crews from Napier, Taradale and Bay View, supported by Napier’s operational support unit, worked at the scene for nearly four and a half hours.
Reverends Mark Johnston and Carolyn Kelly expressed their grief over the destruction, saying they were "devastated" by the fire.
"So thankful that everyone is safe", 1News has quoted.
Napier City councillor Sally Crown described the incident as "heartbreaking news" for the congregation and the wider community. She said she had spoken to the reverend to express her condolences and share personal memories of the church.
"It is hard to reconcile that celebration with this loss," she said, as quoted by 1News.
"These places hold so much of our shared history and so many deeply personal memories. A church is its people, and that community remains, even as people grieve the building they loved."
Members of the congregation also mourned the loss of the building, describing it as a "treasure in the town", 1News has quoted.
The church has a history marked by repeated destruction. The original building was destroyed by fire in 1929, while its rebuilt successor was lost in the devastating magnitude 7.8 Napier earthquake in February 1931, which claimed 256 lives.
In a statement issued on Monday afternoon, police confirmed that a man had been charged following two suspicious fires reported in Napier overnight, as reported by 1News.
Emergency services were first called to a building on Bower Street at approximately 12.50am after smoke was reported coming from the premises. The building subsequently caught fire, and police began investigating the circumstances.
Several hours later, Fire and Emergency New Zealand alerted police to another suspicious fire in an alleyway on Market Street, 1News has reported.
Sergeant Andrew Rallis said CCTV footage helped officers identify a person of interest leaving the scene.
"Local CCTV operators helped Police identify a person of interest walking away from the scene," Rallis said, 1News has quoted.
A 47-year-old man was arrested and charged with wilfully setting fire to the Market Street property and with arson. He has been remanded in custody.
Police are continuing to make enquiries into the fire that destroyed St Paul’s Presbyterian Church, which was reported at around 1 am on Monday. Investigators have yet to establish whether the church fire is connected to the other incidents, as reported by 1News.