A playground at Upper Hutt’s St Joseph’s School was badly damaged by fire – then two days later burglars stole six iPads.
The fire which occurred on Sunday caused major damage to the junior playground.
A police spokeswoman said they were in the process of establishing if the fire was suspicious and inquiries were ongoing.
The playground was installed in 2016. It was not known when the damaged section would be replaced or how much it would cost to repair.
Police are also investigating the burglary at the school on Tuesday night in which the six iPads were taken.
Acting principal Chris Steffensen believed the fire was a “selfish act” of vandalism.
He feared the worst when he received a call about the fire on Sunday and saw dark smoke from the traffic lights north of Totara Park as he drove down to see it for himself.
“I thought there was going to be significant loss to the buildings.”
Steffensen said some of the children had been upset because they thought they and their schoolmates might have been targeted, but the school had reassured them that the fire was a random act, Steffensen said.
Steffensen said the community response had been incredible, with offers of help and messages of support flooding in.
A post on the school’s Facebook page says people have been suggesting setting up a Give a Little page and talking about making donations.
“As much as we really appreciate the offers, we do have full insurance for the playground so donated money would be better shared with organisations like Fuel the Need who help kids across the whole city.”
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