Firefighters from across Auckland have contained a blaze at a two-storey commercial address on Patrick St in Onehunga overnight. Video / NZ Herald
Police are treating a fire in an engineering factory shop in Onehunga as suspicious after about 30 firefighters from across Auckland spent hours battling the flames overnight.
Detective Senior Sergeant Rebecca Kirk, of Auckland City, confirmed an investigation had been opened into the cause of the Patrick St blaze.
Firefighters from across Auckland have contained a blaze at a two-storey commercial address on Patrick St in Onehunga overnight. Photo / Hayden Woodward
“Initialinquiries suggest there are suspicious circumstances that require further investigation,” she said.
A cordon has been put in place while investigators conduct a scene examination. The property will also be fenced off later today.
Firefighters from across Auckland have contained a blaze at a two-storey commercial address on Patrick St in Onehunga overnight. Photo / Hayden Woodward
A specialist fire investigator who gave his name only as Colin told the Herald that the building was being treated as dangerous because its structural integrity had potentially been compromised.
He described both levels of the building as “extensively fire damaged”, with the beams of the roof now bent “like bananas”.
Both levels of the building at Patrick St are extensively fire-damaged. Photo / Imogene Bedford
Firefighters were first called to the fire at 2.14am. They arrived to find the upper floor of the two-storey building “well ablaze”, Fire and Emergency northern shift manager Lauren Sika said.
Seven fire crews and two support vehicles attended the scene, with two crews still on standby this morning, she said.
The top level of the building was well ablaze when the first fire truck arrived. Photo / Imogene Bedford
Nobody was reported injured in the fire, and no other buildings appeared to have been damaged, but fire investigators flagged a potential risk to the property for lease next door.
Debris could be seen building up against the neighbouring structure.
