KEY POINTS:
A fire in a building on the Petone Esplanade caused rush hour chaos in the Hutt Valley tonight.
Traffic had to be diverted as firefighters battled the blaze, believed to have been caused when a switchboard overheated on the third or fourth floor.
Central fire communications shift manager Andrew Tollison told NZPA the alarm was raised just after 5pm and at one stage 13 fire trucks were in attendance.
It was not yet known how much damage was caused.
- NZPA
