Emergency services were called to the fire at Peel St in Cobden around 5:30 a.m. Friday.
A police spokesman said an investigation is underway into the circumstances of the fire and how it started.
“Police will be working with Fire and Emergency NZ investigators today to conduct a local investigation.”
It comes after a woman who yelled and yelled at Cobden’s volunteer firefighters appeared in Greymouth District Court on Wednesday, the Greymouth Star reported.
The firefighters had been called in at the time of the incident to put out a fire in a vacant section next to the Aotearoa Natives gang path.
Chrystal Anne Carter admitted that disorderly behavior could cause violence. A further charge of intentional damage was dropped.
Attorney George Linder said it was “just bad behavior and inappropriate”.
The Greymouth Star reported that Carter was already serving a prison term at the time.
“Her employees [Aotearoa Natives] were the people who attacked people at the site of the fire. Carter’s behavior was just bad and she made fun of herself,” Linder said.
She was not involved in the violence of her co-perpetrator.
Judge Paul Kellar told Carter she risked a maximum sentence of three months in prison or a $2,000 fine.
“I have to speak to you about your horrible behavior.”
The Cobden Volunteer Fire Brigade were called to Peel St on the night of March 4, but when emergency services arrived, gang members attacked the police, volunteer firefighters and a member of the public who was taking pictures of the blaze.
Judge Kellar said the problems started when the brigade stopped to put out the fire next to the gang trail.
“There was a freelance photographer there taking pictures and gang members grabbed him around the neck and threw him to the ground. To put it in context, you weren’t involved,” the judge told Carter.
“You came into play when you started yelling and yelling at the firefighters and throwing items at them, which then served to spur the employees on, who got more excited.”
The judge said the fire service volunteers did an excellent job and that “your behavior has made their lives much more difficult”.
Carter was sentenced to an additional two weeks in community detention, on top of her current sentence.
– Additional Greymouth Star reporting