There may be asbestos in a central Auckland school building that caught fire this afternoon, Fire and Emergency says.
A fire-damaged building at Ponsonby Intermediate school. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Crews are at the scene of the blaze at Ponsonby Intermediate, and will stay on site throughout the night.
The school's computer room caught fire and eight fire engines were sent to the scene after calls to Fire and Emergency at 4.30pm.
Smoke could be seen and smelled across parts of Auckland.
Assistant Area Commander Stephan Sosich said the building's age meant there was a risk of asbestos.
"We've taken precautions and all our fire workers who have been working in the smoke have been carried out an emergency decontamination, which involves wetting their uniform down to control any fibres that might be on their uniforms."
Sosich said it had been reported to Auckland Council as there may be a public health risk.
Fire and Emergency shift manager Karren Larking said they had sent a big response due to the risk of the fire spreading to other school buildings.
Police said they were assisting with traffic management.
CLARENCE ST, PONSONBY - FIRE – 4:45PM
— Auckland Transport Travel Alerts (@AT_TravelAlerts) December 8, 2020
A large fire has CLOSED Clarence St between Jervois Rd and Pompallier Tce in Ponsonby. Emergency services are on-site - please follow their directions and be prepared for delays. ^MF pic.twitter.com/S8sGTtdrJg
Clarence St between Jervois Rd and Pompallier Terrace were closed.
The intermediate school was due to break for the holidays this Friday.
An eyewitness who works nearby said the flames reached about five metres high at one stage.
Firefighters at Ponsonby Intermediate School. Photo: RNZ / Dan Cook
Duncan Shand manages a creative agency that overlooks the school.
He said he could see smoke coming from a back block of classrooms, which quickly turned to flames.
"We could see there was a reasonable amount of smoke coming from one of the back classroom blocks of the school. We could tell it was a serious fire," said Shand.
"How fast fire spreads is pretty frightening. It probably took 10 minutes and there were flames 10 to 20 feet high above the building - it was really, really on fire."
Looks like quite a big fire over Ponsonby way. pic.twitter.com/SWD4AkRD5B
— Bob Jewers (@BobJewers) December 8, 2020
He said it looked serious and some people at the agency decided to go home.
Shand said the fire appeared to be quickly contained.
It was the second building fire in the area in a week after the nearby St Stephens Church caught fire on Saturday.
