October 23, 2019
Reporters get box seat for start of SkyCity fire
Television New Zealand staff had the box seat for the devastating fire that continues to burn in the under construction SkyCity convention centre.
The construction site includes land previously belonging to the broadcaster, including the area where the Māori and Pacific unit was located.
Te Karere reporter Te Okiwa Mclean says when the fire broke out just before 1pm yesterday, newsroom staff could see the fire directly out of their window.
"It was only smoke they could see for about 20 minutes and then after that we started to see flame over the top of the scaffold. The adrenalin was running, like ‘was this really happening next door?’, that kind of feeling, but everyone was kind of ease at the same time, everyone had one another’s backs," he says.
TVNZ along with many other inner city businesses have closed their offices, with staff working in other locations.
So far more than 12 million litres of water have been used on the fire, but it continues to burn.
Fletcher Building chief executive Ross Taylor told reporters today the fire started where blowtorches were being used on bitumen to seal roof joints.
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