Nineteen fire crews have brought a blaze at Auckland’s Gulf Harbour Country Club under control — the second major fire at the location in just three days.
Police were initially called to assist Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) with the fire at the Gulf Harbour Country Club shortly before midnight.
In an update shortly after 1pm, FENZ senior station officer Dan van Hoppe told 1News crews remained at the scene putting out hotspots.
There have been two fires at the closed golf club in a matter of days.
“We are finding hotspots, or pockets or fire that remain burning, and extinguishing those.”
He said the fire damage was “extensive” and went through two floor levels and through the roof.
At its peak, around 50 firefighters from 20 trucks were on site to battle the blaze.
Asked whether the fire was suspicious, Hoppe said: “Possibly. There has been another fire at this very close location on Saturday morning.”
The Gulf Harbour Country Club in Auckland has been caught in another blaze overnight.
Van Hoppe said police were using drones to map the scene and would remain there until at least the end of the day.
“At this stage, the fire is being treated as unexplained and enquiries by emergency services will continue this morning to determine the full circumstances,” a police spokesperson said.
Anyone with footage or information that might assist was asked to contact police via the 105 phone service or anonymously via Crime Stoppers.
FENZ said there were no reported injuries.
‘Just really, really sad’
A Gulf Harbour resident, who asked to be identified only as Shelley, told 1News the situation was “horrendous” as she woke up to the smell of burning chemicals around midnight. She shared news of the event with her community, describing it as a “sad evening”.
“Just really, really sad that it all happened. Because what, two nights ago there was the golf shop, and now this. As soon as I smelt the smell, I knew what was happening.
“And I thought ‘oh my goodness, what’s that smell?’ [I was] looking around my house thinking, ‘where is that coming from?'”
On May 18, a fire broke out at Auckland’s Gulf Harbour Country Club shortly before 3am in the attached golf shop.
The Whangaparāoa Peninsula course, which hosted the New Zealand Golf Open in 2005 and 2006, was closed ‘with immediate effect’ in July last year. Residents had vowed to fight the decision.
“The whole community is waking up to losing a bit of their icon, it’s been heart of Gulf Harbour for a long time,” Shelley said.