The owner of a Dunedin bar damaged by fire said the blaze could have been started by staff smoking in the pub's office.
Customers were evacuated from the Bog pub on George Street last night when fire broke out.
Crews were called to the bar about 7pm, where the second storey of the three-storey building was alight.
Owner Max Bremner said he had been told the cause of the fire was likely to have been staff smoking in an upstairs office.
He was to meet the fire service representatives and insurance assessors tomorrow.
Greymouth racecourse fire 'suspicious'
The fire service is treating a fire at Greymouth Racecourse in the early hours of this morning as suspicious.
Two fire engines were sent to the racecourse just after 4am and found four stables engulfed in flames.
No horses were in the stables at the time.
The fire was put out and a fire service investigator has been at the scene.
