Woman Charged After Vehicle Fire in Auckland’s Massey
A 45-year-old woman has been charged with wilfully setting fire to property following a blaze in Auckland’s Massey suburb on Sunday night. The incident involved two vehicles and exterior structures on Sunline Avenue.
Police were alerted to the fire around 7:40 PM on Sunday, March 23, 2026, according to NZCity News. Upon arrival, Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) crews were already working to extinguish the flames.
Authorities reported that all occupants were accounted for. A witness informed police they observed a woman walking towards the property carrying a jerry can shortly before the fire began.
“The police dog unit was deployed to locate the woman,” police stated. During the search, officers were also called to a separate disorder incident on Scarlett Drive in Rānui. There, they located a woman with burn injuries who attempted to flee the scene.
The woman was apprehended with the assistance of the police dog and the police Eagle helicopter. She is currently receiving medical treatment at Middlemore Hospital and was scheduled to appear in Waitakere District Court today via a bedside hearing, as reported by NZCity News.
A fire investigator is on scene to determine the cause of the fire. According to RNZ, the fire was extinguished by 8:00 PM and St John confirmed no injuries were sustained as a direct result of the fire itself.
The incident follows a larger fire that broke out in Massey on March 23, 2026, with black smoke visible as far as Henderson, according to the New Zealand Herald. That fire involved a car, a carport, and a large van.