A shareholder of an Auckland business which was rammed by a car and set on fire overnight says he has no idea who's behind this attack, or an earlier one.
There have been two fires in two nights at the Vapebox store, in this block of Epsom shops. Photo: Google Images
Police said it was the second time in 24 hours that the vape shop, in Epsom, has been the target of a suspicious blaze.
Early on Saturday morning emergency services had also been called, after the shop front was set alight.
Vapebox Ltd shareholder Geoffrey Mairs said he was baffled by what has happened.
"I don't know of anyone who's after me, the target seems to be the shop," he said.
Fire and Emergency said this moring's blaze caused substantial damage to the building and the police were appealing for any witnesses to either fires.
Detective Senior Sergeant Kathryn Bostock said both incidents happened at the same time in the morning, about 3am.
She said people living in a residential property above the store were at home when both fires were discovered, but were not injured.
Daniel Reilly of Fire and Emergency said 15 fire engines and dozens of firefighters attended the Sunday morning blaze. The building has substantial damage.
"The scene has been handed over to the police and we'll have our specialist fire investigators working with them to investigate the cause of the fire," he said.
Shop next door also damaged in blaze
Seyed Salehi owns Epson Turkish Kebab next door which was also damaged in the blaze.
He said he was worried about how he would pay his mortgage.
Mr Salehi said he did not know how long he would have to close his business for but he was grateful no one was seriously hurt.
Jacky Lam, who owns the nearby KK Malaysian Cuisine restaurant, said his mother was asleep above the restaurant last night when firefighters pounded on her door and told her to get out.
"She told me that it was quite scary ... but now I think she's okay".
Mr Lam said the incident was a good reminder to have a plan in place for what to do in the case of fire.
He said his shop was open for business today.
