Source: Radio New Zealand
A close-up of the Fire and Emergency NZ logo. Marika Khabazi / RNZ
A large building fire in Southland is expected to take a while to extinguish.
Crews were called to a building on Te Anau Milford Highway around 11.15pm on Saturday, where a roof was alight.
Fire and Emergency had feared people were still in the building, Fiordland Lodge, but said everyone had been accounted for.
Assistant Commander Nic McQuillan said the fire was contained to one wing, but work was continuing to suppress a flare-up and monitor hotspots.
He said it was a “complicated” operation due to the design of the building and the roof construction.
At its height, eight trucks, five tankers, four vehicles and an aerial appliance were involved in fighting the blaze.
Firefighters were called in from Te Anau, Manapouri, Mossburn, Blackmount, Lumsden and Invercargill. FENZ said additional crew were being called in to relieve the volunteers who had been tirelessly working throughout the night.
They had been able to save the majority of the building, but an unknown percentage of it had been damaged.
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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand
