Tower fire grabs attention of Sydney commuters

Sydney's Centrepoint Tower has been a tourist attraction since 1981. Photo / Getty Images

Morning commuters in the Sydney CBD today gazed skywards as plumes of dark smoke emerged from the city's Centrepoint tower.

A fire started on the 305-metre tall tower this morning, sending smoke wafting over the city skyline.

The blaze started when construction workers accidentally set alight a cooling tower on the podium level of Westfield Centrepoint shopping centre, one level below the tower, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.

The drama was all over almost as quickly as it had begun. 20 minutes after flames had been spotted, the fire was contained. Workmen on site used hose reels to put out the fire before the city's Fire department arrived.

Many CBD office workers were quick to spread the message about the fire on the social networking website Twitter.

The tower's observation deck is a drawcard for tourists to Sydney. The viewing platform is around 50 metres higher than the one on Auckland's own Sky Tower - although the Auckland structure is taller.

- NZHERALD STAFF