Smoke seen from the field at St Kentigern College in Pakuranga. Photo: Supplied
A two-storey classroom block at Auckland's St Kentigern College in Pakuranga caught fire on Wednesday afternoon, leading to a full school evacuation.
About 20 firefighters attended the incident after Fire and Emergency said they were called to the school on Pakuranga Road about 1.30pm.
A FENZ spokesperson said firefighters saw a "large plume of smoke" coming from the building when they arrived.
Students and staff were evacuated onto the sport fields as a precaution.
The school confirmed there were people inside the classroom when the fire started, but nobody was injured
A station officer at the Howick fire station, John Carpenter, said the fire started in a hopper for collecting sawdust, within the technology/woodworking block of classrooms.
He said it's believed that a nail head may have been caught in the hopper, and started a spark.
Carpenter said the fire was put out within five to ten minutes, and the classroom has only had minor damage.
A spokesperson for the college said senior students were able to start their exams at 2pm despite the brief disruption.
The school could not confirm the extent of damage done to the classroom block.
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