Firefighters were called to the Cedenco factory in Gisborne’s industrial subdivision on Thursday night after a small fire started in machinery.
The alarm was sounded about 6.30pm.
“The whole of the factory was evacuated,” a senior firefighter said.
“A small fire had started in machinery handling squash powder. It was caused by friction in the machinery.”
Four appliances were called to the scene - three from the city brigade and one from the Patutahi volunteers.