Dozens of firefighters battled a large blaze at a mechanic’s workshop in Frankton, Hamilton this morning, with a witness reporting “loud bangs” as the flames raged.
Fire and Emergency NZ said it received calls to the building on Ellis St at around 11.30am.
“We have 35 firefighters and 12 trucks currently working to contain the fire,” a spokesperson said.
Crews from as far as Te Awamutu responded to the blaze.
Ellis St was closed and the public were urged to avoid the area.
“A fire investigator will be sent to the scene to determine the cause.”
Fire and Emergency NZ said 35 firefighters attended the fire at what’s believed to be a mechanics. (Source: Supplied)
Heidi Shoston told 1News she was sitting in her office, which is up the road from the mechanics, when she was alerted to the blaze.
“We all went running out to the carpark and saw the roof was on fire, plumes of black smoke everywhere.”
A group of workers from the office gathered to watch the fire from across the road, and Shoston said they could feel the heat from the flames.
“Every now and then, there would be these loud bangs coming from the building, we reckon they were oil drums heating up and going off intermittently.”
Firefighters got the blaze under control “really quickly”, she said.
“They had the majority of it out within half an hour.”
