9 Oct 2011

Blaze forces Auckland apartment building evacuation

7:43 am on 9 October 2011

An overnight fire forced more than 100 people out of their high-rise apartment building in inner-city Auckland.

The Fire Service says 20 engines and 80 firefighters responded after the alarm was raised at about 1.45am on Sunday.

Crews arriving at the 12-storey building in Hobson Street found a third-floor apartment ablaze.

The Fire Service says it appears the fire started on the balcony and then moved into the apartment.

Residents were kept on the street for more than an hour while the fire was extinguished.