A Gisborne church site with a history of fires has been hit again and the latest is being treated as suspicious.
Fire damaged the rear of St David’s Church at the Rutene Rd and De Lautour Rd corner early this morning.
A police inquiry is underway.
It was at least the third fire at the former Presbyterian church.
Fire and Emergency NZ sent two crews to the church around 5am today after a passerby saw flames and called 111.
“An entranceway at the rear of church was fully ablaze when we got there,” a senior firefighter said. “The fire had got into the ceiling above it as well.
“Fortunately we were able to put it out quickly and stop it spreading to the rest of the church.”
Fire crews aired out the church to remove smoke build-up.
“How the fire started has yet to be definitely determined,” the senior firefighter said. “A special fire investigator went there later that morning to look into it.”
Police maintained a scene guard at the church for several hours.
“At this stage the cause of the fire is being treated as suspicious,” police said.
It is the latest in a series of fires at the site, the biggest of which was in February 2020 when the original church, next to where the church is now,went up in flames.
An electrical fault caused that fire, which destroyed the 100-plus-year-old building.
At least one other suspicious fire has occurred at the site.
The Free Church of Tonga has been worshipping at St David’s.