Members of the Seventh-day Adventist Church in Levin are heartbroken that almost a year of renovations have gone up in smoke. The church building was gutted by fire early morning on June 8.

"I feel deep sadness," said church secretary Sheila McNabb. "A place we've worshipped in for a number of years is gone. "I got there when the fire was out. It was black, wet, dirty and horrible."

Police are treating the blaze, which started shortly after 3am, as suspicious. The fire comes four years after the church's nearby hall was torched in another suspicious fire.

Adventist Church members have been meeting in the rebuilt hall as the church was undergoing substantial renovations.

Mrs McNabb said the building was repiled, the walls replastered and painted, and the church had new carpet and lino. "We were talking about moving back in - it was basically finished," she said.

Fire safety officer John Hotter ruled out the possibility that the fire started as a result of renovations. Police said a nearby resident woken by the fire saw a maroon Mitsubishi Chariot leaving the area toward Liverpool Street.

Detective Michael Harding said police want to talk to the occupants of the vehicle to eliminate them from the inquiry. One occupant was described as being 170cm tall, of slim build, wearing trackpants and a black hooded sweat top. Mr Harding said there were no signs of a forced entry and police want to talk to everyone who had access to a key.

Safety officer Mr Hotter said there was no smell of accelerant on the items removed from around the fire's starting point. He said the fire started between the baptismal pool and the stage.

Church member Doug Vicars was baptised in the pool in October. "I feel pretty shocked, but these things happen in life, unfortunately," he said.

Church elder Sam Afamasaga, 85, said somebody rang him after breakfast yesterday to tell him the news. "It's unbelievable," he said. "I've been telling people to come and have a look for themselves."

The church also lost its library, which included books, videos, cassettes and a small foodbank.

Wellington-based pastor Joseph Afoa said he believes the church will have to be demolished.

The building was converted from a house into a church by the previous owner