Govt to investigate the cause of SkyCity fire

Wednesday 30th of October 2019

An investigation team of ten different government and council agencies are investigating the cause of the SkyCity fire last week, which was allegedly the result of an unattended blowtorch left on the rooftop.

According to some local media reports, the young man was working for a subcontractor and accidentally left the blow torch on when called to a tea break. The fire had started by the time he had returned.

One source is quoted as saying that “the poor guy is in tatters…completely shattered.”

However other reports quote staff working in the roof area as saying they say two young men working very professionally “and they looked like they had been (laying roofing material) for some time.”

The head of MPM Waterproofing Services which was laying the roofing material denied that a blowtorch left by one of his staff was responsible. “From my understanding that’s not what happened,” Andrew Partington said.

Two fire crews and a command center are still on the site, and hotspots are still flaring up. Meanwhile, the streets around the convention center and SkyCity precinct are returning to normal although some roads are still closed.

Last week, the staff union is concerned about air quality in the area following reports from employees experiencing burning eyes and throat and shortness of breath while on the job.

Unite Union organizer Joe Carolan said three people had fainted and others had dizzy spells. He claimed the company had rushed people back to work too early and that there had still been no report on air quality. People want to know that their workplace is safe he said.