Melbourne's Art Centre spire catches fireAAP
Updated January 1, 2012, 6:35 am tweet0EmailPrint
There's been a dramatic end to New Year's Eve celebrations in Melbourne, with the iconic Arts Centre spire catching fire.
The City of Melbourne estimated a crowd of 550,000 gathered to watch the midnight fireworks, including 25,000 people at Docklands.
Fireworks were launched from 17 locations throughout the city, including Victoria Harbour and 11 rooftops, one of which was the Arts Centre spire.
It is believed the fire was started when one of the fireworks misfired.
The Metropolitan Fire Brigade (MFB) said it was alerted to the fire by the crowd, who saw flames at the top of the tower.
More than 100 callers rang triple-zero to report the fire. Many would not have been able to get through because of the sheer volume of calls, the MFB said.
The brigade dispatched 25 firefighters in seven appliances, which had trouble getting through the thousands of people.
Falling debris from the structure forced police to cordon off the area.
By the time the fire brigade arrived, debris from the burning spire had fallen on the roof below, while the spire itself was alight.
According to the Herald Sun, flames covered two sides of the spire just 30 minutes into the New Year. Flaming debris was still falling off at 12.50am (AEDT), the paper said.
Chaos reigned as many people had parked at the arts centre. In addition, Flinders Station was blocked as police tried to escort the fire engines through to the site, the paper reported.
An aerial appliance was used to check for possible fires on the roof while the police air wing directed firefighters to where small fires were.
City Road and Southgate Avenue were closed for some time. The site was declared safe at 3am (AEDT). No injuries were reported.
There was no estimate of the damage to the arts centre or the spire. It is expected the fire brigade will carry out further checks in the morning.
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