Witnesses say the fire at the Roxburgh town hall has likely devastated the building - which is a central meeting place for the town and home to what is thought to be the world's oldest operating cinema. Photo: Otago Daily Times/ Richard Davison
The local community is reeling as a massive blaze that has gutted the historic Roxburgh Town Hall and caused the roof to partially collapse is contained.
It may still be some time before the major fire in the more than 110-year-old building, which was home to one of the longest-operating cinemas in the world, is completely out.
Its website says it has been showing movies since 1897 and it has submitted a claim to Guinness World Records.
Fourteen fire appliances and two command units have come from as far as Dunedin to the blaze, which was reported at 11.45am today.
Photo: Otago Daily Times/ Paul Mooney
Nearby buildings were evacuated and a large crowd gathered to watch the emergency response over the afternoon.
Central Otago District Mayor Tamah Alley travelled from Waitangi Day celebrations in Queenstown and said the scene was confronting.
''I think she's probably pretty well gone from the looks of it.
''Everybody will be pretty devastated to lose an iconic building.''
Firefighters are drawing water from the Clutha River to fight the fire and the Central Otago District Council has issued a boil water notice for Roxburgh and the Lake Roxburgh Village, saying they would be bypassing normal treatment at the water treatment plant to ensure crews had as much water as possible.
Photo: Otago Daily Times/ Paul Mooney
Clean water tankers would be stationed in the town.
Crews were working on an external attack, using an aerial appliance to douse flames from a height and prevent the fire spreading to other buildings, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman said.
Teviot Valley councillor Sally Feinerman said there was still a lot of smoke and flames coming from the building at 3.30pm.
It appeared the fire was spreading from the entertainment centre at the front of the building to the town hall at the rear, she said.
"People are feeling really sad," she said.
"Just the age of the building and it being the longest-running movie theatre in the southern hemisphere.
"They've just done so much work upgrading the facility which is really devastating for the group that run the Roxburgh Entertainment Centre.
"It's the biggest meeting place we have in Roxburgh."
Traffic was being diverted from the town's main street (SH8), she said.
NZ Transport Agency Waka Kotahi have advised motorists to allow for extra time and follow the instructions emergency services on site.
Otago Daily Times Central Otago reporter Julie Asher was at the scene, which she described as "unbelievable".
"It's just heartbreaking."
The building would be seriously damaged, she said.
Photo: Otago Daily Times/ Paul Mooney
Another witness at the scene said the windows of the building had all blown out and flames could be seen inside it.
Holding his toddler son, Alfie, in his arms, Roxburgh local Daniel Dance was emotional as he watched the fire.
"It's my whole life. My father [Doug] was on the committee that set up the theatre. I spent my whole life in that building, since I was little."
Another person watching said the fire was devastating and there were decades of memories going up in flames.
Tourists gathered on top of the hill above King George V Park to watch the fire.
Included were people from Wanaka and Dunedin, who had planned to take their children to the park below, but were watching the fire instead.
Last month, an electrical fire in the cinema caused minor damage, but early detection by a recently installed fire alarm meant fire crews were there within five minutes.
The Central Otago District Council owns the building but the cinema is operated by a volunteer-run charitable trust whose profits return to the theatre.
The cause of the current fire is not yet known, though Alley suggested talk was that it might also have been electrical.
* This story originally appeared in the Otago Daily Times.
