One arrested for arson, police seeking another after west Auckland supermarket chip aisle erupts in flames

Two men aged 19 and 20 have been charged after this blaze started in a supermarket aisle. Photo / Hayley Rayner

One man has been charged with arson and police are seeking a second man after fire broke out in the chip aisle of a west Auckland supermarket.

After what was later described as a possible TikTok prank gone wrong, 60 firefighters were sent to the blaze at Countdown in WestCity Waitakere mall, Henderson.

A 19-year-old from Weymouth in south Auckland was arrested and charged with arson, and police were also seeking a man aged 20.

The charge, of intentionally damaging property knowing that danger to life would likely ensue, carries a maximum 14-year jail term.

The man already charged was scheduled to appear at Waitākere District Court on Thursday.

The fire broke out last Thursday, May 6.

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Customers were evacuated from the mall after the fire started just before 8.30pm.

"The security went and got the extinguisher and used it. I thought it had gone out but then there was more flames coming up above the shelves," one eyewitness said.

A Countdown staff member the next day told the Herald about online videos where packets of chips were set alight.

The challenge has appeared on social media app TikTok and has resulted in at least one large supermarket fire in the US already.