Fire safety inspectors in Christchurch say two major fires in central-city buildings on Friday night were arson.
Fire crews spent the night damping down the fires, which took hold mid-evening in the partially demolished McKenzie & Willis building on the corner of Tuam St and High St and in a disused warehouse on Moorhouse Av.
The McKenzie & Willis premises were badly damaged and the warehouse was extensively damaged as well.
Fire risk management officer Shane O'Brien says there were workers in both buildings during the day on Friday but they were not doing any work that could have caused the fires and there was no power on in the buildings.
Mr O'Brien says both buildings were badly damaged and the McKenzie and Willis building is too unstable to examine internally.
