But whether the arsonist used an accelerant such as petrol remains unclear.

Fire investigators continued sifting through the debris yesterday.

And now they believe they have pinpointed where Friday morning's blaze began.

It was first thought it started in the office.

But Divisional Officer Melvin Outerbridge said yesterday: "We now believe it started in the storage room.

"It spread from there along the roof and towards the east.'' He added it was difficult to tell whether an accelerant had been used.

One of the reasons was that a lot of water was used to douse the flames.

DO Outerbridge said he intended giving his findings to the Police.

He would also be be compiling a report for the Chief Fire Officer.

DO Outerbridge believed the inside of the Admiralty House Park building was fairly safe.

Some of the walls were cracked, but the structural damage was not thought severe.

The building would, however, need a new roof.

As to motive, DO Outerbridge said: "That is not something I concern myself with.'' Twenty firemen battled the blaze, which broke out at about 3.30 a.m. on Friday.

It burned through the roof and gutted two storerooms and an office of the North Shore club.

More than 250 chairs and tables, sports gear, a filing cabinet, and musical equipment were also lost.

Police said last night nobody had been arrested over the incident.