Three fire chiefs battle blaze in South Auckland during union strike
Three fire chiefs battled a blaze after flames engulfed a house on a South Auckland street during the union strike today.
Five fire crews were called to the fire at 12.32pm on Finlay Place, Ōtara, a small residential cul-de-sac.
A Fire and Emergency shift manager told the Herald the fire encroached on an adjoining property.
A Vector gas emergency vehicle also responded, with workers frantically digging a hole outside the property while firefighters continued to hose down the house.
Fire and Emergency Te Hiku region manager Ron Devlin told the Herald the district commander and two assistant district commanders responded while waiting for volunteers to arrive.
“The fire started during the New Zealand Professional Firefighters’ Union one-hour strike. Career staff were not available to immediately respond due to their NZPFU industrial action.”
Crews are battling a house fire Finlay Place in South Auckland. Photo / Jason Dorday
Just after 2pm, he confirmed both houses were vacant and the fire was now under control.
A witness, who lives nearby, said he saw large plumes of white smoke, which kept getting darker.
When he went to see where the smoke was coming from, he saw a house fully engulfed in flames about 3 metres high.
Police handed out masks to nearby residents as a pungent smell of smoke spread across the area.
Authorities have closed streets near a house fire on Finlay Pl in South Auckland's Ōtara.
Staff at Bairds Kindergarten, which is near the scene, said they had put all the children inside away from any smoke.
The fire broke out during the national firefighters’ hour-long lunchtime strike.
It’s the third serious blaze to break out during the ongoing strike action this year in Auckland.
In January, a pizza business was destroyed in a lunchtime blaze. A month later, a North Shore school sports pavilion was razed.
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