Three fire trucks responded and quickly extinguished the fire, which was called in around 2:30 a.m. The fire couldn't be seen from the road, but neighbors said they saw and smelled smoke before the trucks had arrived.

Church Pastor Gavin Lum arrived about 45 minutes after the initial fire call. Following a walk-through with firefighters to assess damage, Lum said most of the interior damage was heat- and smoke-related, but the fire never got inside the basement walls.

"There was some cardboard against an old pew that we had set outside and it caught fire," Lum said. "I was told there's been maybe three fires set in the area in the last day or so, so they think it may be the work of one person."

Arson Detective Tasman McKee also said firefighters were kept busy through the night responding to rubbish fires within the area.

"They told me they've gone to on Beretania, down the road, all around here," McKee said.

Firefighters were able to quell the fire immediately and stop it from entering the church and surrounding buildings. Most of the damage was to one of the church doors, though it also caused some electrical damage.