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More than a dozen fire crews from across Auckland are converging on reports of a large blaze on the North Shore.
Police have established a cordon at the scene on Triton Dr, Rosedale and are turning vehicles away.
The building, housing Kinetic Engineering Design, is consumed entirely with flames inside. A worker at the scene said there was no night shift running on Tuesday evening.
Firefighters are working to battle the flames from the outside and using aerial appliances. A senior firefighter at the scene was heard telling employees they are working to contain the blaze
The first firefighters have begun entering the building. Senior firefighters were heard quizzing employees whether there is piped gas in the building. The employees warned there was an air compressor cylinder at the rear of the building. One aerial appliance from Parnell appears to be having success stopping the spread of the fire. Sections of roof can be heard collapsing inside the engineering firm’s building. The inside of the building has been gutted and twisted sections of framing are all that remain of the windows
A witness reported seeing flames erupt from the business shortly before 9pm.
Matt Belcher was working in the office building next door when the blaze erupted. He said he smelled burning and heard popping sounds but didn’t think anything of it. Five minutes later, he saw huge flames erupt from the windows, lapping at the night sky. “The flames were billowing out maybe 10m high.”
The fire continued to rage inside the building at 9.20pm, about half an hour after the first reports came in of the blaze–Agencies
