A fire at Glendowie Primary School, in east Auckland, has ripped through a two-storey block at the rear of the school, with 80 firefighters at the scene.
Smoke is billowing hundreds of metres into the air above the school and is so large, witnesses are reporting seeing naked flames fromHalf Moon Bay with smoke seen from as far away as the North Shore.
There are 20 fire appliances and around 80 firefighters at the scene and the Fire Service is expecting to be battling the flames throughout the night.
Northern Fire Communications Shift Manager Scott Osmond says there are two fire safety officers at the scene who will investigate the cause of the blaze when they can.
Police have also been called to the blaze to help with crowd control and have blocked off some of the roads surrounding the school.
Former Glendowie Primary School student Emma Freeman is at the cordons and says police are keeping bystanders well back because of the debris from ash.
" There are bits that are pretty big falling from the sky onto Glendowie Park where I'm standing. And to be honest, most of Glendowie seems to be standing here too."
She says at its height the fire was absolutely massive.
"People could see it from everywhere. My parents were on Tamaki Drive at the time, at St Heliers - they could see the flames and the huge plume of smoke from there. You're talking a couple of kilometres away and over a hill."
Ms Freeman says the rear of the school, which is the original junior school, has pretty much been destroyed. The Freeman Block, which was named in honour of her mother who worked at the school for 31 years, is partly damaged.
There are also fire units inside the neighbouring St Andrews Retirement Village block trying to contain the blaze and prevent it from spreading.
