Police say Carterton house fire was arson

A house fire in the Wairarapa at the weekend is being treated as arson.

The blaze at 178 High Street South in Carterton started about 11am on Sunday and was extinguished by fire crews just over an hour later.

Wairarapa CIB Detective Sergeant Bill van Woerkom told NZPA the fire was believed to have started inside the house and that it had been deliberately lit.

"Our fire safety officer and detectives are still there at the scene today, but there's certainly things at the scene that make us believe it is an arson attack," he said.

Police wanted to hear from anyone who saw a light coloured car speeding away from the scene, and anyone who saw a man wearing dark clothing who was jogging north on High Street at the time of the fire.

Mr van Woerkom said police also wanted to hear from a bus driver who was driving along High Street North and had to brake for a car coming out of a driveway at the time.