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Fire crews battlle a blaze at the Od Waipukurau Hospital - Source: ONE News -
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The Fire Service believes arson is likely to be the cause of a fire which destroyed three buildings at an old Hawke's Bay hospital and forced the evacuation of 30 neighbours.
An 80-strong team was needed to contain the blaze in the town of Waipukurau in central Hawke's Bay.
Waipukurau's volunteer fire crew were on their way to another callout when they came across the dramatic scene.
A ONE News camera was there as firefighters battled the blaze in the three-storey building which started at around 1.45am on Monday.
About 30 people in the area were told to leave their homes.
"Residents downwind have been evacuated because of potential asbestos in the smoke," says Allan Bamber, Assistant Area Fire Manager.
One evacuated resident says they went to a local hall but those that could go elsewhere did.
But authorities allowed the families to return home at about 8.30am after finding no evidence of any hazardous material.
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Trish Giddens rushed back from out of town when news of the fire spread.
"I feel quite sick about it, actually. It's been a long connection. I worked here for 27 years prior to 1999 when it closed down," says Giddens.
The crews, who have been at the scene since the early hours of Monday morning, were not expecting to leave until nightfall. What has been making their job much harder is that the building is so unstable on the inside that they can only fight the fire from the outside.
But the fire is not the only thing that has residents talking.
Just before 9.30am Monday, a man with soot or oil on his face robbed the New Zealand Post shop of an undisclosed amount of money.
Police say they cannot confirm whether the robbery is linked to the arson or is the act of an opportunist.
And while officers work on that case, a demolition expert has been at the fire scene, figuring out whether the old hospital will have to come down.
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