An investigator is at the scene of a fire considered suspicious on the grounds of the former Queen Mary Hospital in Canterbury.
Fire and Emergency said a crew responded to a call at 3.47am this morning to the Hanmer Springs property.
“It has been extinguished and is deemed suspicious,” a spokesperson said.
The fire was not part of the main building but in “a small 20m x 10m structure”.
Police told 1News they were there to accompany a fire investigator.
The site was a facility for the treatment of drug and alcohol dependencies until 2003. The property was passed to the Hurunui District Council as a historic and recreational reserve in 2010.