Concern for teen alleged to have started blaze
‘The poor guy is in tatters . . . he’s completely shattered’
The SkyCity boss has expressed concern for the welfare of the person possibly a teenage apprentice — believed to have left unattended the blowtorch that sparked the devastating fire.
As many as 10 reviews and investigations have begun in the wake of the blaze that devastated the New Zealand International Convention Centre while the clean-up continues. They include the police, insurers and other Government agencies after the fire ripped through the roof of the $700 million building last week.
The Herald discovered from a wellplaced source that the teenager, who was working for a sub-contractor, was called for a smoko break and only remembered when he was away from the roof that he may have forgotten to turn off the gas blowtorch being used to help install waterproof membrane.
The source understood he was returning to the roof to check the blowtorch but by then the fire had started.
“The poor guy is in tatters . . . he’s completely shattered.”
SkyCity Entertainment Group’s chief executive Graeme Stephens said there were surveillance cameras operating in the precinct but he did not know how the fire started.
He was, however, concerned about the worker who is alleged to have been involved.
“We have been worried about that person. We don’t know who it is. There’s certainly no witch hunt from our side. We have a genuine concern for their mental health and wellbeing.
“We’re not trying to find them and get them back. We don’t know the cause of the fire. We have concern for anyone involved. We’re absolutely of that view. We need to get to the cause, obviously.”
MPM Waterproofing Services general manager Andrew Pardington told the Herald on the afternoon of the fire he had a team of up to 12 waterproofers at the convention centre when the blaze broke out.
Pardington refused to confirm or deny the new allegation about how the fire started.
Fire and Emergency New Zealand region manager Ron Devlin said the investigation, which included mapping affected areas, was ongoing and it was not yet known how long it would take.
More than 150 firefighters were involved in extinguishing the fire, which saw toxic thick black smoke pour from the rooftop for four days.
Guests were moved from SkyCity’s hotel The Grand and put up in other accommodation. The casino, restaurants, carpark and Sky Tower were all closed that afternoon, as were other nearby buildings, including the District Court, in following days.
While those buildings had reopened, some of those who have returned to work at the convention centre said there remained a strong smell of smoke and reported experiencing dizziness, headaches, coughing and asthma flareups.
Unite Union organiser for SkyCity, Joe Carolan, told RNZ he still had not seen a report from WorkSafe or from the company itself about the air conditions.
“The workers are complaining about burning eyes, burning throat and, with our asthmatic workers, shortness of breath. We’ve had three people who’ve reported fainting and people have [had] dizzy spells,” he said.
Traffic congestion also remained around the convention centre with several surrounding streets still partially closed.
A section of Wellesley St was open to only buses yesterday, and only the left lanes were open on parts of Hobson St and Nelson St. The Nelson St cycleway was open.
The latest flare-up occurred about 6pm on Monday, but firefighters were able to scale back their presence at the site.
“There are now two trucks present at the site,” Devlin said.