Flammable substance used in Auckland high-rise fire

12:40 pm on 23 January 2018

Multiple fires at an apartment building site in central Auckland yesterday were caused by a flammable substance being left on a stove top, the police say.

The site in central Auckland.

The site in central Auckland. Photo: RNZ / Laura Tupou

The first fire broke out yesterday morning, but several more blazes later in the day on different levels of the Albert Street building site suggested the fires were deliberate.

Police say the fires all started the same way and are being treated as suspicious.

Senior Sergeant Nina Pedersen said no one was injured, but there was localised damage in apartments where the fires started and some surrounding apartments, including water damage from sprinklers that were activated.

The 32-storey Auckland apartment building is under construction, and is now being treated as a crime scene.