One person is in a critical condition after being rescued from a fire deemed suspicious at a west Auckland building last night.
Emergency services were called to the Salvation Army building on View Rd in Henderson following reports a person was trapped inside a kindergarten area shortly after 10pm.
At its peak, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) shift manager said 32 firefighters from seven crews from Henderson, Te Atatū, West Harbour, Ellerslie, and Ōtara responded to the scene.
The incident was escalated to a second alarm level.
Waitematā CIB Acting Detective Inspector Megan Goldie said one person was found inside the building and transported to hospital in a critical condition, where they remain.
"Initial enquiries suggest there are suspicious circumstances that require further investigation," she said.
"At this stage, police are not looking for anyone else in relation to this incident."
St John said it sent one ambulance and one rapid response unit to the scene, and transported the patient to Auckland City Hospital.
FENZ senior station officer Mike Manning told 1News smoke was coming from inside the building when crews arrived.
"On arrival, we had smoke coming from the building and reports coming from bystanders that a person was trapped in the building."
"We could hear the person inside calling for help. We've done a size up around the building, and then put the firefighters up inside, and they've done an excellent job," Manning said.
He also confirmed the main fire was in the kindergarten area of the playcentre, which was being treated as "suspicious" with specialist investigators on site.
The fire has since been extinguished and a fire investigator attended the scene.
A scene guard has been put in place overnight to allow a scene examination to be completed today.
Police would work with the fire investigator as part of ongoing inquiries.
Anyone with further information was urged to contact officers on 105, or provide information anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.
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