Court fire blamed on electrical fault

A fire which forced the evacuation of the Wellington District Court today is believed to have been started by an electrical fault.

Six prisoners and hundreds of other people had to be evacuated from the court this morning after a fire in the basement.

Incident controller James Gray said the fire began about 11am and smoke spread throughout the court building and the neighbouring Public Trust building.

Both buildings were evacuated and the fire service used fans to clear the smoke.

The fire was contained by sprinklers and the six prisoners were taken to Wellington Central police station.

The cells, used to hold prisoners, are located in the court's basement.

Fire central communications shift manager Murray Dunbar said the fire was believed to have been started by an electrical fault.

- NZPA