Live: Fire at New World supermarket in Auckland's Freemans Bay

RNZ News14 hours ago

Almost a dozen fire crews are battling a major fire at a central Auckland supermarket.
Fire and Emergency have been called to the New World Supermarket in Freemans Bay.
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RNZ News

9 hours ago

RNZ News

Inside Auckland's Freemans Bay New World after blaze

Footage inside the central Auckland supermarket that caught fire today shows the damage sustained from the blaze, which at its peak had 20 fire trucks on-site. The fire in the Freemans Bay supermarket has been contained - but is still not out. The video shows what is left of the supermarket ceiling, while water floods out the door and down the stairs. Stock that survived the blaze is seen in the corner and damaged materials hang from the roof. The video was given to RNZ by a member of the public. Foodstuffs North Island chief executive Chris Quin said the fire at the New World store started in a rebuild area, with the supermarket under renovation. He could not confirm the cause. Quin said the value of stock loss was unknown, but staff would be looked after and most customers had been reunited with their undamaged cars. The fire started in the mezzanine roof space and spread inside to aisles. Fire and Emergency said the blaze was under control and crews remained at the scene dampening down hotspots. A Stay Inside Emergency Alert was issued for people southwest of the fire, but that had since been lifted. The public has been asked to avoid the area. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

11 hours ago

RNZ News

Part of Christchurch council building shut down for months

The annex on the Worcester Boulevard side of the civic offices was closed last month. Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Part of the Christchurch City Council building will remain closed for months after an engineering report showed it was an earthquake risk. The annex on the Worcester Boulevard side of the civic offices, which usually housed the council chamber and mayor's working space, was closed last month. An engineering seismic assessment showed it only had a new building-standard (NBS) rating of 40 percent. A building with an NBS rating of less than 34 percent was considered earthquake-prone, while a rating between 34 and 67 per cent was deemed "moderate risk". Photo: RNZ / Nate McKinnon Council chief executive Mary Richardson said the area would remain off-limits to staff as a precaution so strengthening work could be carried out. "The likelihood of a large earthquake is considered low, however based on the potential consequences and the temporary mitigation measures available, we have determined that the council should continue to vacate the annex area," she said. "Safety of council staff, elected members and visitors is paramount and after discussing the risks, mitigations and options with the council engineers and the executive leadership team, we're not willing to take any risks on that." The work was expected to take six months. The investigation and construction could happen promptly because the annex would be unoccupied during this period, Richardson said. "Although, we are still working on logistics for how the remedial programme will run," she said. "Due to the longer period of restricting occupancy of the annex, we will be looking at options to improve the working environment for staff and elected members, particularly those who have been relocated." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.

RNZ News

14 hours ago

RNZ News