Hot money: Arson destroys ATM

Picture / Lynn Clayton

A woman who threw petrol on to a blazing fire in the Auckland suburb of Parnell yesterday was caught on camera by a member of the public.

The fire, believed to have begun just after 5pm, closed one of the city's main thoroughfares just in time for the evening rush hour and was thought to have started in a drycleaning business on the ground floor of a two-storey building at 164 Parnell Rd.

The building was "substantially damaged", said Fire Service spokesman Jaron Phillips. A Kiwi Bank ATM was also damaged.

Hazardous chemicals in the drycleaning shop had to be removed before the flames reached them, he said. Nine appliances attended the blaze.