A blaze at a food processing building in East Tamaki, Auckland. Photo: Supplied
Residents and business owners in Auckland's East Tamaki have described the moment they realised a fire had broken out at a food processing business.
Fire and Emergency were called to Neilpark Drive at 9.10am Tuesday.
Leon Scott lives in the area and got a shock when he opened his curtains.
''We are lucky enough that we live on top of a hill in East Tamaki and we can see over most of the area, and the first thing I saw was black smoke billowing out of a building.
Scott said everyone in the area came together and checked on one another.
''They've all come together and told me the same thing saying, 'Oh it's just over the fence, oh I think it's at this place.'
"Everyone was outside taking photos and wondering if neighbouring businesses are all all right."
"The little community in East Tamaki, especially the commercial community, is quite close knit," Scott said.
Scene on Neil Park Drive where a fire broke out on 22 August, 2023. Photo: Amy Williams / RNZ
One woman, who owns a cafe in the area, said the situation escalated quickly.
''All of a sudden everyone just went outside and then one fire truck came and the next thing you know there were nine fire trucks."
Fire and Emergency said the blaze is now out and crews are dampening down hotspots.
There were no reported injuries and the cause of the fire is not yet known.