Brothel evacuated as fire puts quick end to ardour

Firefighters hose down hotspots after the blaze extensively damaged the massage parlour. Photo / Christine Cornege

Flames erupted and black smoke billowed from a brothel on a historic central Auckland street yesterday, causing those inside and at the cafe below to evacuate the premises.

Dozens of people watched from footpaths and office windows as firefighters fought the Fort St blaze, which flew up ventilation ducting just before 2pm from the "Beauty 28" parlour, above Romani Cafe.

Fire trucks stopped traffic from entering the street and at its intersection with Commerce St.

A crane hoisted firefighters on to the roof to dampen hotspots.

A large patch of the white wall on the buildings beside was blackened by smoke.

The Fire Service's Auckland area commander, Brian Edwards, said investigators would start looking into the cause of the blaze once all of the hotspots were completely out.

He said no one was injured in the blaze.

Fire communications spokesman Colin Underdow said the massage parlour was extensively damaged by the blaze and the ground-floor internet cafe and restaurant suffered water damage.

The Auckland City Council is planning a $23 million upgrade of Fort St, which will turn it into a shared pedestrian and vehicle space.

Markers will outline the street's history as part of Auckland's former foreshore, to show where the sea was before reclamation began in 1859.

The transformation is part of the council's $965 million 10-year CBD streetscape and open spaces upgrade programme, which began in 2004.