December 18, 2008

Fifteen bedridden patients at a private hospital were evacuated as Hamilton was hit by a series of suspicious fires early today.
Fire crews from around Waikato were brought in to help tackle the quick succession of blazes at Braemar Hospital, Hamilton Girls' High School, and a car.
Assistant Fire Region Commander Roy Breeze said the first of the fires broke out at 2.42am at Braemar Hospital in suburban Frankton.
A wheelie bin against an external wall was set alight, igniting the hospital's gas feed.
Fire then spread to the hospital's ceiling vent, activating the building's fire sprinkler system which stopped the fire from spreading and averted a tragedy, Mr Breeze said.
More than 30 firefighters and eight fire appliances brought the blaze under control. Firefighters dissipated a gas cloud using water.
Mr Breeze said the cost of the fire was likely to run into millions of dollars with x-ray machines damaged by fire sprinklers.
Half the hospital's 30 bedridden patients were taken to safe areas, with 10 later being transferred to another hospital.
The next fire, at 2.58am, was in a car parked in Queens Ave.
Fifteen minutes later, firefighters were called to Hamilton Girls High School where a skip bin was set alight near the school gym.