The fire at Wellington’s famous pub Backbencher in under control.
Six fire engines and a hazardous materials truck arrived at the scene for the pub’s second fire in four months.
The pub’s owner, Alistar Boyce, says the fire started on the first floor where a contractor was gas cutting and it quickly spread downstairs and into the basement.
"We had a contractor in cutting out huge 1200 litre tanks we used 30 years ago for the beer," he says.
“They were working on them all day and they'd been going pretty well. Obviously a spark somewhere caught something and just got out of control."
Black smoke poured out from windows and a large crowd gathered.
The pub is a drinking hotspot for MPs and is located right next to Parliament, as well as being home of former TVNZ7 programme Backbenchers.
It was gutted by fire in June this year which meant the pub had to close. The Fire Service says tea towels were to blame for that blaze.
Mr Boyce says he hopes the latest fire doesn’t hold up renovations because they plan to reopen in February.
3 News
source: newshub archive
