Fire near Auckland chemical factory not suspicious

9:27 am on 10 January 2017

A fire at a warehouse in the west Auckland suburb of Avondale - which required 18 crews to put out - is not being treated as suspicious.

At least 18 crews were called to the blaze at the AKZONobel and AA Insurance warehouse on Rosebank Road in Avondale, Auckland.

At least 18 crews were called to the blaze on Avondale's Rosebank Road. Photo: RNZ / Carla Penman

At least 18 crews were called to the blaze, which was at the AKZONobel building on Rosebank Road.

The fire was found to be caused by old electrical appliances.

Fire Service assistant area commander John Booth said when they arrived, they found the building full of smoke and the sprinker system working.

He said it took a while for their crews to get in, but once they did, the source of the fire was found and quickly put out.

Mr Booth said without the sprinklers, the building would have burnt to the ground.

AKZONobel is a Dutch multinational company that specialises in paints and speciality chemicals.

The Fire Service said the warehouse covered nearly 2500m2 and contained dangerous goods and flammable chemicals, such as acetylene. It had sent hazmat teams as a precaution.

Working sprinklers had stopped the building burning to the ground, it said.

A photo posted by the Fire Service shows smoke rising from the site in Avondale.

A photo posted by the Fire Service shows smoke rising from the site. Photo: Twitter / @FirecommNZ

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