A late-night blaze which caused serious damage to a café in Auckland’s Orewa, leaving the owners “devastated”, is being treated as suspicious by police.
Emergency services were alerted to the fire at the Sunflour Café around 11.20pm on Saturday, with multiple calls reporting flames coming from the two-storey building.
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) responded with crews from Silverdale, East Coast Bays, Te Atatū and Parnell.
“The crews arrived within ten minutes to find a two-storey building measuring 25 by 10 metres, with the front cafeteria well ablaze,” a FENZ spokesperson said.
The owners of the Sunflour Cafe were “devastated” by the serious damage to their “home away from home”. (Source: 1News)
Firefighters forced entry and brought the fire under control within 20 minutes.
Police confirmed they were treating the fire as “suspicious” and were working alongside the fire investigator. No injuries were reported.
In a post on Facebook, the owners of Sunflour Café said they were “devastated” by the incident, which they say involved a break-in and deliberate ignition.
“This place means so much to us and to so many of you who’ve made it part of your daily routine, celebrations, and community.
“We’re already working on getting things cleaned up and repaired so we can reopen as soon as possible.
They thanked the community for its support, saying locals’ messages and calls “mean the world to us”.
