Static electricity built up on a man's clothes has led to a small fire at the Z petrol station on Fenton St.
Rotorua Fire Brigade senior station officer Colin Rolfe said it was "pretty rare" for a fire to break out like that but fortunately no one was hurt.
The fire happened around 11.50am yesterday.
"Static electricity can build up on a person's body, especially if you wear acrylic clothing you get a build up," Mr Rolfe said. "He walked around [his car], took the cap off but there was a bit of static in his body and it set fire to it. It's not something that's common, it's pretty rare."