27 Oct 2014

Police guard site of mosque fire

5:37 am on 27 October 2014

A police guard has been at an Auckland mosque where a side building was damaged by fire overnight.

Visible fire damage at the Islamic Centre.

Visible fire damage at the Islamic Centre. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

Police and the Fire Service have not been able to establish if the blaze was suspicious.

At least four fire engines were called to the Avondale Islamic Centre at 2.45am after a member of the public noticed smoke.

Police said damage was limited to a storage area to the side, and the mosque itself had escaped damage.

A police cordon.

Fire Service vehicles, as well as the police guard and cordon, remain at the site. Photo: RNZ / Kim Baker Wilson

Both the police, and the Fire Service, are investigating what caused the fire.

The centre was shut in May after an administrator was badly beaten, and a security guard was attacked and threatened amid tensions over who should be in charge.