'Realised it was actually pretty bad': Mall staff thought Auckland blaze was false alarm
Emergency services are responding to a fire at Hoyts Cinemas Botany Downs in Auckland.
Video posted to social media shows plumes of thick black smoke billowing from the Botany Town Centre shopping precinct in East Tāmaki.
Other video shows aerial appliances spraying water on the roof of the cinema complex, while evacuation sirens sound from the building.
A worker at the shopping centre told the Herald the alarm first sounded just before 10am.
“At first we thought it was another false alarm but then we saw the smoke coming from above the food court,” they said.
“At first, the smoke wasn’t too bad but it soon became very thick and black, which is when we realised it was actually pretty bad.”
A police spokeswoman said officers were assisting fire crews with the incident, which was reported at around 10am today.
Emergency services are responding to a fire at Hoyts Cinemas Botany Downs in Auckland. Photo / Kerry Carlyle
In a statement, Fire and Emergency New Zealand said crews were currently on site working to contain the blaze, which began in an air-conditioning unit on the roof of the Botany Town Centre theatre building and was reported shortly before 9.30am.
“Smoke was reported in the movie theatre in the building,” Fire and Emergency said.
“Multiple crews are at work inside and externally, with an aerial appliance also in use.”
More to come...
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