MELBOURNE'S Arts Centre spire has caught fire in a dramatic conclusion to the city's New Year's Eve fireworks display.
The fire appeared to be caused by a firework that failed to discharge properly during the spectacular show, which was witnessed by more than half a million people.
The area around the Arts Centre was evacuated immediately following the end of the of the fireworks.
Thirty minutes into the New Year, the flames covered two sides of the Arts Centre peak in St Kilda Rd as fire trucks tried to navigate their way through hundreds of thousands of revellers.
A Metropolitan Fire Brigade spokesman said: "We have got four appliances heading there but we can't get through because there are thousands of people there.''
Large piece of flaming debris fell at about 12.32am, causing smoke to rise from a lower level of the spire.
Police struggled to hold back hundreds of people, many of whom had parked their cars at the Arts Centre.
And Flinders St Station was thrown into mayhem as a small army of police escorted a fire truck through the crowd of tens of thousands at Swanston St.
It took more than ten minutes for the truck to break through and reach the Arts Centre.
Louise Sanders, of Sunshine, had just enjoyed fireworks with friends when she was told she could not reach her car parked near St Kilda Rd because the road was partially blocked by emergency services.
"The police have told me to go around a different way, but I don't know how to do that,'' she said.
''We're just not sure what's going on.''
Small flames were still visible on the lower level of the spire at 12.50am as the police air wing circled the towering fire and flaming chunks continued to fall from the building.
The fire near the top of the Melbourne icon was a dramatic conclusion to a night which saw police break up a crowd in Rye after fireworks were fired at them by drunken youths and a Preston man suffered a serious eye injury when a cracker went into his eye.
Read more: http://www.news.com.au/national/arts...#ixzz1iA7Hx1yr
yuz can't even hold onto the fireworks without fumbling them .............. fumbletards
