20/05/2024
Man has been charged with arson
A 37-YEAR-OLD man has been arrested in relation to a fire in Ōpōtiki this morning.
Sergeant Shane Forsyth of the Ōpōtiki police said the man would appear in the Whakatane District Court on Tuesday on charges of arson.
The arrest followed a report of a break-in at the Coastguard Ōpōtiki building overnight, and a digger being located on fire at the wharf at around 3am.
Coastguard Ōpōtiki president Ron Jones said he was “gutted” that someone has tried set fire to the coastguard building.
“We’re a volunteer organisation that works with saving lives at sea,” he said.
“That someone would try to burn our building down is unbelievable.”
Mr Jones said that while the digger fire was discovered in the middle of the night, the arson attempt at the coastguard building was only discovered at 7am.
“They didn’t realise that thinks were smouldering over here – the alarm did not go off and no one saw the window was broken,” he said.
Luckily, the building itself was unharmed, with only curtains, books and promotional material being charred.
Mr Jones said fotage captured by security cameras installed on the building had aided police in their investigations, which are ongoing.
HEB Construction project manager David Wyeth said the digger destroyed in the arson attack had been worth around $20,000.
He did not expect the attack to set the work back much.
“We’re a bit thin on the ground here today while the fire service and the police do their investigations,” he said.
FIRE INVESTIGATOR Jon Rewi and a HEB Construction staff member inspect the destroyed digger.
