A fire broke out at a hotel under construction in the Auckland CBD this afternoon.
The fire was in a 19th floor room of the 22-storey DoubleTree by Hilton on Albert St around 2.20pm, Assistant District Commander for Auckland City Dave Woon told reporters at the scene.
Two windows on the floor were broken, Woon said, which was "helpful in letting us get water in".
He said the building was under construction and this provided challenges to fire crews.
"Being a building under construction, it will have a whole bunch of different hazards – different to what an occupied building would have."
Fire crews reported one person in a crane required treatment.
Multiple people were inside at the time of the blaze, he said.
"All persons were accounted for."
In an update, Fire and Emergency said the blaze had been extinguished. "Crews will remain at the scene for the rest of the afternoon."
Members of the public were asked to continue to stay clear of the scene for the next hour.
Hato Hone St John was alerted to the incident around 2.26pm and responded with an ambulance and two operations managers, with an additional unit en route, a spokesperson said.
Dozens of firefighters were at the scene tackling the blaze as onlookers gathered to watch, according to a 1News reporter at the scene.
Officers were at the scene for traffic management, a police spokesperson said.
The fire broke out at the DoubleTree by Hilton on Albert St. (Source: 1News)
Strong, acrid smoke could be smelled across the central city.
A video posted to social media by MP Tim Costley explained the crucial work of firefighters. "This is why we've got to support them because this is what they do, seven days a week," the MP for Ōtaki said. As he was speaking, flames could be seen from an upper floor room of the building.
An investigation was underway into how the blaze began.
SHARE ME