Fire trucks from every direction, people recording on phones
On a Thursday afternoon in Auckland's CBD, fire broke out near the top of a half-finished tower, reminding the city that construction — the act of building toward the future — carries its own particular dangers. Around forty workers evacuated the DoubleTree by Hilton on Albert Street as emergency crews navigated a structure whose incompleteness was both the problem and, in one small mercy, part of the solution. No lives were lost, one person was treated for injury, and the investigation into origins has begun — a familiar coda to the kind of event that briefly turns an ordinary afternoon into something the street stops to witness.
- Smoke visible from blocks away signalled that a fire deep inside a 22-storey construction site was not a small or contained event.
- Roughly 40 workers had to find their way out of an unfinished building — no complete safety systems, exposed frameworks, and construction materials at every turn complicating the evacuation.
- Shattered windows on the 19th floor gave firefighters an unexpected opening, allowing water to reach the heart of the blaze in a building that offered few other easy access points.
- One crane operator required medical treatment, and nearby residents felt threatened enough to evacuate their own building before joining crowds watching fire trucks converge from every direction.
- The fire was extinguished by mid-afternoon, all occupants were accounted for, and investigators moved in to determine what ignited the blaze in a building still very much a work in progress.
Smoke rolled out of the DoubleTree by Hilton on Albert Street on Thursday afternoon, visible across downtown Auckland. Around 2:20pm, fire broke out on the 19th floor of the 22-storey hotel still under construction, and up to 40 workers inside began evacuating as emergency crews arrived.
Assistant District Commander Dave Woon found firefighters already working the problem. Two windows on the affected floor had shattered — a fortunate accident, he explained, because it gave crews a direct path to push water into the fire. But the unfinished building presented real complications: exposed frameworks, incomplete safety systems, and scattered construction materials made for terrain fundamentally different from a finished structure.
Construction worker Kim Kun was on the 7th floor when he heard people screaming down the stairwells. He made it out safely, though he admitted his instinct once the danger passed was almost to head back upstairs and close a door — the muscle memory of an ordinary workday. One crane operator required medical treatment. By the time ambulance services arrived around 2:26pm, all occupants had been accounted for.
From a 13th-floor apartment nearby, a witness and his brother watched smoke and flame pour from a bent window frame. They evacuated their own building and joined dozens of onlookers on the street as fire trucks converged from multiple directions. The witness described watching flames move through the building — terrifying and mesmerising in equal measure.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze by mid-afternoon, though crews remained on scene into the evening. The area stayed cordoned off, and an investigation into the fire's origin was underway — a reminder that building toward the future carries hazards that don't wait for a structure to be finished.
Smoke thick enough to smell across downtown Auckland rolled out of the DoubleTree by Hilton on Albert Street Thursday afternoon, visible from blocks away. Around 2:20pm, fire broke out on the 19th floor of the 22-storey hotel still under construction, forcing emergency crews into a building that presented hazards they wouldn't face in an occupied structure. Up to 40 workers were inside when the blaze started.
Assistant District Commander Dave Woon arrived at the scene to find firefighters already working the problem. Two windows on the affected floor had shattered—a stroke of luck, he explained, because it gave crews a direct path to push water into the heart of the fire. But the building's unfinished state created complications. Exposed frameworks, incomplete safety systems, and construction materials scattered throughout meant crews had to navigate terrain fundamentally different from what they'd encounter in a finished building. "Being a building under construction, it will have a whole bunch of different hazards," Woon told reporters, his tone matter-of-fact but acknowledging the extra burden his teams faced.
Kim Kun, a construction worker on the 7th floor when the alarm went up, heard the chaos before understanding it. People were screaming down the stairwells—"fire, fire!"—and the evacuation began. Kun estimated roughly 30 to 40 people were working in the building that day. He made it out safely, though he noted with a kind of dark humor that once the immediate danger passed, his instinct was to go back upstairs and close a door, as if it were any other workday. One person operating a crane on site did require medical treatment, though the nature of the injury was not detailed. By the time Hato Hone St John arrived around 2:26pm, responding with an ambulance and two operations managers, all occupants had been accounted for.
From a nearby apartment building, a witness watched the scene unfold from the 13th floor. He and his brother saw smoke and flame pouring from a window frame, the glass bent outward from the heat. Their first instinct was evacuation—the fire was close enough to feel threatening. They crossed the street and joined dozens of onlookers as fire trucks converged from multiple directions, their lights and sirens turning the afternoon into something between emergency and spectacle. "It was quite hectic," the witness said. "Fire trucks turning up from every different direction and just a whole bunch of people out on the street, phones out recording." He watched the flames advance through the building, floor by floor, a visible progression that struck him as both terrifying and mesmerizing.
Firefighters extinguished the blaze by mid-afternoon, though crews remained at the scene into the evening, managing the aftermath and securing the building. Police officers handled traffic control as the area remained cordoned off. The public was asked to stay clear for at least another hour. Tim Costley, the MP for Ōtaki, posted a video from the scene showing flames still visible in the window frame, using the moment to underscore the relentless work firefighters do. "This is why we've got to support them because this is what they do, seven days a week," he said. An investigation into the fire's origin was underway, with authorities working to determine what sparked the blaze in a building that, by definition, was still a work in progress.
Notable Quotes
Being a building under construction, it will have a whole bunch of different hazards—different to what an occupied building would have.— Assistant District Commander Dave Woon
This is why we've got to support them because this is what they do, seven days a week.— MP Tim Costley, commenting on firefighters' work
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
What made this fire harder to fight than one in a finished building?
Construction sites are essentially mazes of exposed materials and incomplete systems. There's no finished walls to contain the fire, no permanent safety infrastructure in place. The crews have to think three-dimensionally about where the fire might spread next, and they're working in spaces that aren't meant to be occupied yet.
Why did those broken windows actually help?
They gave the firefighters a direct opening to push water straight into the seat of the fire without having to breach walls or navigate interior spaces. In a building under construction, you take those advantages where you find them.
The crane operator—was that person in immediate danger?
They were exposed in a way ground-level workers weren't. Elevated, isolated, with limited escape routes. The fact that they needed treatment suggests the fire or smoke reached them before they could get down.
How did 40 people evacuate so quickly?
Construction sites have practiced evacuation procedures, and the alarm system worked. People heard the warning and moved. It wasn't orderly in the sense of a fire drill—there was panic—but it was effective. Everyone got out.
What happens now?
Investigators will examine the 19th floor, the materials stored there, the electrical systems, any ignition sources. Construction fires often trace back to welding, electrical work, or stored materials. Once they know the cause, the building owner and contractor will face questions about whether safety protocols were followed.