Pullman hotel fire: Football Ferns evacuate stairwell through thick smoke

The Football Ferns were evacuated from their Auckland CBD hotel this evening after a fire alarm was triggered.

The Herald understands players were evacuated through a stairwell, running through thick smoke.

A statement from New Zealand Football said the team and staff were temporarily evacuated from the Pullman Hotel – their team base for the FIFA Women’s World Cup – due to a fire, and all of the team and staff are safe and accounted for.

The Herald understands the team was forced to go to a private dining room across the road and were waiting to hear if they will be moved to a new hotel.

Fire and Emergency confirmed they received an alarm activation at 7.48pm and on arrival the building was smoke logged.

A fire investigator has been called in after firefighters deemed the blaze to be suspicious.

Four people were treated for smoke inhalation.

Eight teams are currently staying in Auckland during the tournament – New Zealand, USA, Vietnam, Argentina, Norway, Philippines, Portugal, and Italy.