A fire on Victoria Ave, Whanganui has caused emergency services to close the road. Simon Waters / Whanganui Chronicle
It was all hands on deck as every available firefighter in Whanganui was called in to the blaze which destroyed a historical two-storey building on Victoria Ave on Monday morning.
A glow could be seen in the sky as they left the Whanganui Fire Station at 2.49 am.
Eight appliances,including one from Palmerston North, were used to put the fire out.
Fire and Emergency Whanganui senior station officer Jes Sorensen said the fire was surrounded and brought under control but took a couple of hours to extinguish.
"Because the roof had collapsed it meant it was difficult to get to the fire underneath it," he said.
The fire had to be tackled aerially using a pontoon ladder.
The two-storey historical building was gutted by the fire. Photo/ Bevan Conley
Sorenson said the building was believed to be unoccupied at the time but was still being assessed.
