Lives edangered by arsonists

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Lives endangered by arsonists
JO MCKENZIE-MCLEAN Last updated 05:00 02/04/2012

Arsonists are "wrecking" an already damaged community, a senior fire officer says.

Fire and police investigators are looking into another deliberately lit fire, this time at the red-stickered Linwood Library beside Eastgate Mall on Saturday. It is the latest in a series of arsons in Christchurch, including two more over the weekend.

Emergency services received multiple 111 calls from members of the public who saw thick black smoke and flames coming out of the library roof while shopping at the busy shopping centre in the middle of the afternoon.

Senior Station Officer Symon Mitchell said the fire was one of three deliberately lit in Linwood since Friday.

"There has been a number of fires in this area, every night so far, where unoccupied buildings have been set fire to. It's a bit sad for the area because it's badly damaged as it is and you don't really need this sort of thing happening on top of that. People are wrecking their own community really.

"I don't know if it's the same people."

The library, unoccupied after it was red-stickered in the February 2011 earthquake, had been severely damaged. Fortunately, the books had been removed from the building, he said.

Most arsons occurred during the night, so the 3pm blaze was "unusual", he said.

The fire appeared to have been set in a back office.

Detective Sergeant Craig Farrant, of the Canterbury Criminal Investigation branch, said there had been an intentional break-in at the back of the building.

"There has been a large number of arsons of late and it is a big concern for us, especially given the likes of this building which is red-stickered. A lot of houses are being used as doss houses and the concern is someone will lose their life by some idiot's action."

Farrant said police were following a strong line of inquiry.

Fire safety officer Graham Davies said he had been to three suspicious fires in Linwood since Friday.

On Friday about 3.30am an earthquake-damaged house on Hereford St was set on fire. The property and the owner's belongings were damaged, he said. On Saturday morning about 4.30am a fire was set to one of three sleepouts on Barbadoes St behind a demolished backpackers , and spread to all three. Last Friday night, a deliberately lit fire destroyed a former flour mill on Wise St in Addington.

- © Fairfax NZ News
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