SkyCity Auckland Convention Centre fire: Hero crane driver dialled 111
Thursday, 24 October 2019
A crane driver is believed to have made the first call to emergency services when the SkyCity Convention Centre fire started.
From his crane, the worker, who Stuff has agreed not to name, had a bird's eye view of the roof and witnessed the fire starting, it's understood.
At the time the fire broke out, 1.10pm on Tuesday, there were about 400 people working in the building.
Firefighters finally had the blaze under control about 7am Thursday, more than 40 hours since it broke out.
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The whole SkyCity complex was evacuated that afternoon as black, toxic smoke blanketed the nearby area.
People were advised to stay away from the city wherever possible.
On Thursday, work was underway to reopen roads and pump water out of the basement.
Engineers would assess the inside damage to the structure on Thursday.
Construction workers claimed the fire started when an unattended blow torch ignited flammable material on the roof.