SkyCity convention centre fire: workers' lives in disarray as cars entombed

Wednesday, 30 October 2019

Video footage shows flooding inside the SkyCity Convention Centre after the fire.

Some SkyCity workers have had their lives thrown into disarray as their cars remain entombed in the depths of the fire-ravaged convention centre, a union says.

Unite Union senior organiser Joe Carolan said about 100 cars belonging to workers remain trapped on a lower floor of the convention centre car park.

The company had provided $50 daily transportation credits to affected workers, but that was not enough to cover transport costs for those living in places like Orewa, Howick, or Botany, Carolan said.

Water blasted onto the burning convention centre seeped down to the car park and submerged dozens of cars.

SkyCity external communications manager Laura Barrett said $50 was enough to cover the daily cost of a rental vehicle, an option some employees had taken up.

**READ MORE:

Unite Union's Joe Carolan says SkyCity workers whose cars remain trapped in the convention centre car park are furious. (file photo)

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Eight million litres of firefighting water was estimated to have flooded the car park.

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The company would compensate employees for any damage to their vehicles and would be working with insurers on this, she said.

The credit could be used for any form of transport, including ride-share cars, rentals or public transport.

Barrett said fewer than 100 cars were trapped on level B4 of the NZ International Convention Centre car park.

Those vehicles were earlier submerged in about 1.5m of water which flowed down after being blasted onto the roof during frantic firefighting efforts.

Cars on other levels of the car park had since been removed and were all driveable, Barrett said.

Carolan said the workers whose cars remained trapped in the car park were 'absolutely furious'.

'A lot of them are renters, they don't own a house.

'For many people their car is their pride and joy.'

The lack of a car was proving a major issue for the affected workers, some of who live as far afield as Orewa, he said.

Carolan said some workers were struggling to do the shopping or ferry around their children without their cars.

The cost of an Uber to Orewa from the SkyCity precinct was $62.23 one-way about noon on Wednesday.

Stuff was able to find a rental vehicle available for two days from Wednesday to Friday in Auckland city for a total cost of about $56.

However, that quote relied on not buying insurance, which required a $2500 bond on a credit card hold.

No bond was required from that central city rental car company if 'medium cover' insurance was purchased, which brought the cost up to about $113 for two days.

These rental car costs also did not include petrol, as rentals have to be returned with a full tank.