Workers scramble from fire in 19th floor of Auckland CBD hotel

A fire broke out at a hotel under construction, with up to 40 people inside having to evacuate, 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.

Hotel fire in central Auckland sends smoke billowing from high-rise - Watch on TVNZ+

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 another hour.

Hato Hone St John was alerted to the incident around 2.26pm and responded with an ambulance and two operations managers, a spokesperson said.

"Our ambulance staff assessed two patients at the scene in minor conditions. No transport to hospital was required."

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.

Strong, acrid smoke could be smelled across the central city.

Construction worker Kim Kun says he was on the 7th floor of the hotel when the blaze broke out.

Kun said they were alerted to the fire after hearing people "screaming coming down ‘fire, fire!'".

The worker estimated around 30-40 people were in the building at the time.

He said he was feeling "all good" after today's "shocking" events.

"I think I gotta go back and have a look and close the door – like a normal day."

A witness told 1News he was on 13th floor of his brother’s apartment nearby when they looked out the window and saw "this smoke and fire coming out with a bent window".

"It was quite concerning with how close the building was so our thought was like, 'We'll be evacuated so just get out'."

The brothers went across the street and "watched it all unfold".

"It was quite hectic. Fire trucks turning up from every different direction and just a whole bunch of people out on the street, phones out recording the stuff," he said.

"It was actually pretty crazy seeing the fire advance through the building."

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 licking from the window frame of an upper floor room inf the building.

An investigation was underway into how the blaze began.