An Auckland RSA that was engulfed in flames on Sunday morning was lucky to escape major damage, but punters were disappointed to miss out on their Mother's Day dinners.
The fire at East Coast Bays Returned and Services Association on Bute Rd was discovered at around 3am on Sunday morning.
It was not being treated as suspicious, but East Coast Bays fire officer Dave Spencer said investigations were ongoing to find the cause of the fire, which started at the back of the historic building.
He said any damage to the property and its large collection of memorabilia was due to smoke, which travelled extensively through the building.
"Everything that's hanging on the walls is going to be fine. It's just more smoke damage inside," said Susan Haslam of the East Coast Bays RSA.
RSA members had been disappointed to miss out on their restaurant bookings for Mother's Day, she said.
Although they hoped to have the restaurant back open for Wednesday, many of the RSA's normal activities would have to be suspended as the downstairs area could stay closed until next Monday.
"We can't do the normal activities that we do here for sure," she said.
"Line dancing, ballroom dancing, housie, snooker, pool, chess club, all these activities for this week have to be cancelled."
Precautions would need to be taken before reopening the smoke-damaged building, especially regarding the safety of its elderly patrons, Mr Spencer said.
The "vibrant" RSA had about 3000 members, RSA national president BJ Clark said.