At about 3am this morning emergency services were called to a fire at a residential address in Turua, just south of Thames. The occupants had woken to the sound of a window being smashed by an unknown object, followed by a small fire igniting in the main bedroom.
The two adults, two young children and the family dog were able to leave the address without serious injury.
Fire staff attended very shortly after and controlled and extinguished the fire, however there was extensive fire damage to the upper level of the house.
The occupants are currently being spoken to by detectives and a scene examination is under way to establish the exact cause of the fire and identify those responsible.
Police are unable to comment on the exact motive of the alleged attack but believe it is not a random act and possibly relates to a smaller fire lit against the front fence on an earlier reported occasion.
Acting Detective Senior Sergeant Dean Anderson said there was a very real prospect that such an act could have had dire results, and he asked for members of the public that could offer any assistance to the investigation to make contact with Thames police.
ENDS
Issued by Public Affairs, PNHQ.