Three police investigators were dispatched to Mauke last week to look into the Island Government administration building fire on Thursday, March 6.

According to police spokesperson, Trevor Pitt, the police worked alongside Rarotonga’s Rescue Fire Service investigator Paul Matapo. 

The police have returned to Rarotonga, however, due to airline seat limitations, Matapo is still in Mauke and is scheduled to return later this week.

The findings were unavailable at the time of publication, but the cause of the fire does not appear suspicious.

Mauke’s administration building housed essential services including the Justice Office, Finance Office, BCI Bank, Courtroom, and the Ministry of Internal Affairs.

There were no employees in the building when it caught fire after 2pm.

Mauke police reported the incident to the Rarotonga police station at 3.43pm.

Residents fought the fire with buckets and bins of water for around three hours to try and contain the flames.

Cook Islands News understands that all the equipment in the building, such as laptops and documents, was destroyed in the blaze.