By Hayley Gastmeier
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A house gutted by fire in Carterton yesterday is being treated as a suspected arson.
The house on Belvedere Rd was fully engulfed in flames when the Carterton volunteer firefighters arrived just before 1am yesterday.
Fire trucks from Masterton and Greytown were called to the scene to help fight the fire, as well as support units from Wellington and Avalon.
The fire was being treated as suspicious, Carterton fire chief Wayne Robinson said.
Both police and fire are investigating the cause of the early morning blaze, with police yesterday morning making enquiries to neighbouring houses and businesses.
Mr Robinson said the house had been unoccupied, however they did not know this on arrival, so police and ambulance were summoned.
“There was no one around so you’ve got to treat it as a worst case scenario, treat it as if there was someone in there, but after a thorough search there was no one there.”
The house had been “significantly damaged” by the fire.
“We probably had it under control in about 30 minutes, but then it took an hour and a half to dampen down the hot spots,” Mr Robinson said.
“I’m not sure there were any working smoke alarms in there. We didn’t hear anything on arrival.”
Suspicious house fire in Carterton
