A fire that destroyed a landmark Waitati building, leaving the owner ''pretty upset'', is believed to be the result of an accident.
The fire took hold in the Thornicroft Rd structure, known as ''the Dome'', about 3pm yesterday.
A Fire Service spokesman said firefighters had been called to a fire in trees and "a dome-like structure" north of Dunedin.
The building was on a 1.1ha lifestyle block owned by Dunedin man Geoffrey Layton, who could not be contacted last night.
Crews worked at the site through the evening, and returned to the site early this morning to continue to dampen hotspots, Waitati Chief Fire Officer Jeff Burrow said.
The site was particularly prone to hotspots because of large timber structures in the former building, he said.
Earlier indications the fire may have been suspicious were not true.
"We think it was purely an accident," Mr Burrow said.
Owner of the building Geoffrey Layton was "pretty upset".
"There was a lot of love in it."
The two-storey building had a large hall-like area upstairs, and downstairs an area where bands sometimes played.
Dunedin man Damien Sutherland said he had been working nearby and saw black smoke about 3pm.
When he got near the building with a workmate "even if there was anybody [needing help], I couldn’t go any further because of the heat and the flames".
"The whole house, top to bottom, was totally engulfed."
His workmate called emergency services, but it appeared others had already done so.
Fire trucks arrived about 10 minutes later.
Waikouaiti Coast Community Board chairman Alasdair Morrison, who lives nearby, said the structure had been there "a long, long time".
Mr Morrison said it was fortunate it had been raining for the past few days.
"If all the surrounding shrubbery was still bone dry it could have been a real problem.
"It could have been a lot worse."
