Fire has badly damaged Te Karaiti Te Pou Herenga Waka, the Anglican Marae Church at Mangere in South Auckland.

Police are treating the fire, which broke out in the early hours of Thursday, as suspicious: the church is cordoned off, and a fire investigation team has been carrying out forensic work there.

Firefighters were called to the blaze shortly before 4:30am. Five crews fought the fire, which had taken hold in a downstairs office and vestry space.

The church itself, and the wharekai, or dining room – while suffering smoke and water damage – appear not to have suffered major structural damage.

Besides the downstairs office and vestry, the worst affected areas are the foyer of the building, the stairs leading up to an office and study area used by the taapapa, the onsite Pihopatanga theological school, and the wide eaves of the building above that downstairs office.

Bishop Kito Pikaahu, Te Pihopa o Te Tai Tokerau, returned to Auckland yesterday afternoon, and led a thanksgiving service in the forecourt of the church last evening.

The Rev Hirini Kaa, who is an assistant priest at Te Karaiti, and who surveyed the damage this morning, said the people of the church community are “absolutely determined” to bounce back from the fire.

“We are not just going to repair this church – we are going to grow from here.

“This church is vital. It’s an essential part of one of the most needy urban communities in the country.”

He said members of the Mangere community were calling by to offer their condolences, and Len Brown, the mayor of Manukau city, had also come by to express his support.

Te Karaiti Te Pou Herenga Waka is about 30 years old. It was built, debt free, by the church community over a period of years.