A large fire at a former mental health facility near Hokitika is being treated as suspicious, Fire and Emergency NZ says.
Emergency services responded to multiple reports of a large fire in the Seaview Terraces area, north of the West Coast township around 7am on Sunday.
At its peak, seven fire trucks, two water tankers, and several support vehicles from six brigades were at the scene of the blaze.
It has since been brought under control, a Fire and Emergency NZ spokesperson said.
The cause was still unknown, but it was being treated as suspicious and a fire investigator would be on scene for the next day or two.
Police confirmed to 1News it was making inquiries into the blaze alongside Fire and Emergency NZ.
There were no reports of any injuries.
Seaview Asylum, later known as Seaview Hospital, was a psychiatric facility located north of Hokitika.
It opened in 1872 and operated until 2009, making it one of the longest-running mental health institutions in the country. It housed 549 patients and was Hokitika’s largest employer.
