Smoke could be seen wafting out of an upper-floor window earlier, the staff member said.
Several people in high-vis were seen redirecting ferry passengers away from the terminal entry.
An aerial platform is being used to reach the building’s fourth storey. Photo / Tom Rose
Three fire trucks arrived 30 minutes after the building was first evacuated, from the west Auckland stations of Waitakere and Laingholm, and Silverdale on the Hibiscus Coast, along with two police cars.
Ferry passengers could be seen waiting outside the building while Fire and Emergency staff entered. Two more fire trucks from the Parnell station arrived about 1.15pm.
An aerial platform was being used to reach the building’s fourth storey.
A crowd of about 100 people has gathered at the bottom of the Intercontinental Hotel to watch.
Auckland Transport (AT) said it was aware of the incident but, because the fire was in the building and not the wharf, there were no disruptions to ferry services at this stage.
It understood the alarm was a false one, and there was no fire.
“Someone in a building across the road saw smoke and called emergency services.”
Members of the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU) have been conducting hour-long rolling strikes in a pay dispute that has lasted since August. Industrial action was escalated this month with two lunchtime strikes a week.
Sign up to The Daily H, a free newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
