The fire that brought a city to a halt

The fire at Auckland’s under construction convention centre was an unprecedented event for firefighters – and photographers. By Warwick Rasmussen.

Photojournalist Chris McKeen’s first image of the massive convention centre fire was taken on a colleague’s iPhone after he jumped out of an Uber. On his way to the fire he took the shot on Auckland’s Hopetoun Bridge, then got back in the car.

It was early afternoon on Tuesday and McKeen knew he had to get to a good vantage point to best capture what was happening at the under construction New Zealand International Conference Centre.

He got early shots from the 28th floor of the Auckland Council building on nearby Hobson St.

‘‘I could see the fire on the roof, and it seemed like a smallish fire in the corner.

‘‘I thought if the fireys got it under control now there would still be substantial damage, an inquiry and laying blame.

‘‘But if they can’t and it spreads, then there’s big trouble.’’ The fire burned through day and night, and the Auckland visuals crew’s teamwork started to kick in, with the aid of many people back in the newsroom.

As a photojournalist McKeen has seen it all, but the fire felt like ‘‘the biggest story in Auckland for years’’.

‘‘There are going to be long-term and farreaching consequences, not just the fire, but the cleanup and the rebuild.’’

David White, another experienced Sunday StarTimes photographer, started working on early Wednesday.

‘‘It was still dark and you could just see the flames so clearly.’’

One of his spots to shoot from was on the ninth floor of an apartment building.

‘‘It was quite something to be working while a guy is there in his undies eating his cornflakes.’’

Despite his elevation White said he was about level with the fire, which gave him an idea of how big it really was.

‘‘It was quite deceiving. It was amazing just watching it.’’

Aside from the fire, what struck White was how all of the warnings and road closures affected the city.

‘‘It was so quiet, it’s what Auckland must have been like in the 1950s.’’

DAVID WHITE/ STUFF A worker covers her face to try and avoid the smoke that covered much of the CBD.

RICKY WILSON/STUFF Flames roar through the night at the massive convention centre fire.

Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during a visit w