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A witness has described hearing “huge cracks” when a fire broke out at a middle school in central Auckland.
The fire started at Ponsonby Intermediate School shortly after 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.
Black smoke could be seen billowing through the suburb.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
Firefighters could be seen fighting a fire at Ponsonby Middle School.
The fire broke out just days after a “suspicious” fire in the church of San Esteban, just 500 meters away.
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A police spokesman said it was too early to say whether the two incidents are related.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
A school building was badly damaged by the flames.
Director Nick Wilson said he was still finding out information about what had happened.
Things kept changing, he said.
Some of the first people to see the fire and call emergency services work in the offices next door.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
A firefighter washes himself with a hose after tackling the flames.
The first sign of the fire was smoke coming from the ceiling.
Within a minute and a half, flames could be seen rising two to three meters from the ceiling, Kenton Starr said.
They heard popping as the roof exploded and some people were slow to move from the parking lot as debris fell, he said.
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Black smoke can be seen billowing through the suburb.
They had been told by a couple of students that the burned-out building was a computer lab, he said.
A worker at the nearby French Sujet toy store said she saw the incident unfold.
Abigail Dougherty / Stuff
St. Stephen’s Church on Jervois Rd caught fire on Saturday.
“There was a large plume of gray smoke coming out of the center of the school,” he said.
Police were also on the scene, he said.
MARTINA VADER / SUPPLIED
Martina Vader heard creaking sounds soon after, the fire broke out on the roof of Ponsonby Intermediate.
Witness Martina Vader said she could hear “huge cracks” coming from the building.
Several fire trucks were at the scene and smoke could be smelled from a street beyond.
Ryan Anderson / Stuff
There were a large number of firefighters at the school.
The workers who were present said it was amazing how quickly the fire had taken over.
At one point there was smoke, “the next moment flames burst through the roof,” said one.
The school parking lot was littered with debris from the charred roof, which was still smoking a bit around 5.45pm.
A Things The reporter said firefighters could be seen pulling cables, laptops and laptop computer drawers from the building.
Clarence St has been closed between Jervois Rd and Pompallier Tce, Auckland Transport said.
The fire was under control at 6pm.
