Battle to control Dunedin blaze

Firefighters were expecting to work through the night at the scene of a fire in central Dunedin which yesterday destroyed one building, threatened three others and left five firemen with burns.

Hundreds of people were evacuated from buildings in the block of Moray Place, Princes St and the Octagon, and more than 80 emergency crew were at the scene, fighting the blaze, treating the wounded and undertaking crowd control.

The blaze was concentrated at the five-storey Bracken Building on Moray Place (one block south of the Octagon) which houses two apartments, offices for five businesses, a photography studio, a large area of storage and one bar. The building is three storeys at the front, but drops down and includes another two storeys of car parking at the back.

The fire, thought to be the worst to hit the city in several years, started just after 3pm in an apartment on the second floor.

Residents in the building reported hearing a bang, then seeing flames leaping out windows.

Off-duty firefighters and volunteers from Outram, Ravensbourne and Portobello were called in to help fight the blaze, which was attacked from the front, from neighbouring buildings and from above by helicopter.

It was almost three hours before the fire was brought under control. It was not clear last night what was left, but at least the two top floors were destroyed and chief fire officer Dave Seque was expecting some damage to the ground floor.

No one in the building was hurt. It is thought there are usually between 20 and 35 people in the building during the working day.

Five firefighters were taken to Dunedin Hospital by ambulance with burns to their hands and face.

- NZPA