City fire forces hundreds from offices, restaurants

Firefighters remained on the scene of a central Auckland office block late last night where hundreds of workers were evacuated after a fire in a chimney duct.

Thick smoke was seen billowing out the top of Federal House on Federal St about 2pm.

Workers in the nine-storey building - a SkyCity administrative building - and staff from the AA Tower on Albert St were rushed on to the street.

Television chef Al Brown's restaurants Federal St Deli and Depot were among those evacuated, while nearby Masu was also emptied.

Smoke billows from an air duct at SkyCity.

SkyCity's casino and convention centre, as well as the Grand Hotel, were not affected.

Both Albert and Federal Sts were blocked off to traffic, but it did not appear to cause any major disruption.

One crew remained at the scene last night, Jarron Philips from the Fire Service northern communications centre said.

Firefighters were carrying out salvage from the building, and using ventilation vans to clear the smoke from the office block, he said.

It was not clear how much damage was caused by the blaze, or how it started.