Police investigate suspicious Taradale Fires | Hawkes Bay News | Local News in Hawkes Bay

Napier detectives teamed with specialist fire service officers today to investigate two fires, 13 hours apart, which left a Taradale house badly damaged.

The first call came in at 11.49am yesterday after a nearby resident spotted smoke coming from the Howard Rd house.

The fire was confined to a small lounge and was quickly brought under control, but there was extensive smoke damage throughout the house.

A fire service spokesman said a man living at the house had been out at the time of the blaze and arrived back while firefighters were still damping it down.

There was no initial indication of what started the fire.

Just after 1.34am today the fire service took a second call to say there was another fire at the house and this time the damage was understood to be more extensive.

There was no one home at the time of the second blaze which appeared to have started in the upstairs area and spread to the roof.

The fire service spokesman said the second fire had started in a different area than the first and because of that the police were called in.

"The cause is unknown and at this stage is being treated as suspicious," Napier Police Sergeant Eion Evans said.

Initial checks had revealed no obvious signs of forced entry.

The second fire had been quickly brought under control and there was no danger to neighbouring properties.