Arson again at Hamilton building destroyed 18 months ago
The roof was on, the windows were in and the paint was about to go on the newly built commercial building in Hamilton after it was completely destroyed by a ferocious blaze 18 months ago. But early Monday morning an intruder broke into the premises on King St in Frankton and set fire inside the temporary office and smoko rooms. Its a blow for the buildings owner, Mike Wilson, who has spent 18 months gaining consents and rebuilding the site after the blaze destroyed his family owned building in January 2019. The building was occupied by Speedy Signs and EmbroidMe shop when it went up in flames leaving a charred skeleton on the night of January 26 that year. READ MORE: * Arson again at Hamilton building destroyed 18 months ago * Sawmill Brewery fire: Burning laundry started blaze at craft beer plant in Matakana * Arson suspected in early morning blaze in garage of Hamilton home Im a bit pissed, he said from the site on Monday afternoon. I finished the roof on Friday, put the windows in on Saturday and on Sunday it burnt down again. I have to pull the roof off and start again. The site was owned by Wilsons grandfather and been in the family since the 50s. After the previous fire it took until December 2019 to get consent through council and claim insurance before the rebuild process could commence. Six months on, the building was almost complete. They were just in the process of finding new tenants for the 500sqm refurbished premises, he said. We can carry on with the front of the building but the fire has taken out the back of the building. Fire damage has taken out about 200sqm of the building, he said, and destroyed the temporary office and smoko area. We were ready to paint the interior and exterior its lucky we hadnt done the electrical. He said he still didnt know what the cause of the last blaze was. This is now the second time. I have no idea...just an arsonist wanting to burn it down. Fire Investigator Ross Fleet said the fire, reported at 12.30am, was suspicious and was lit in the temporary internal office and smoko rooms. It does appear that an intruder has entered and most likely deliberately lit a fire in the office that was set up inside the building. Its a timely reminder to people in the construction phases to be mindful about their security fencing and making sure there is the least potential possible for intruders. There are lots of construction sites going on that have temporary buildings and offices dotted around the site, so just a reminder to those people that site security is important. Two weeks ago Wilson's container outside the building was also broken into. He said security were now onsite and cameras will be operating. Police were also investigating and anyone with information can contact police on 105.