Armed police attend Henderson barbershop fire after mistaken report of armed person in the area

Armed police arrived at the scene following mistaken reports of an armed person in the area. Photo / Hayden Woodward

Armed police were called to a barbershop fire in Henderson overnight.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) were called to the fire at around 11.50pm Friday, where they found the Babylon Barbers shop engulfed in flames.

A second alarm was triggered, prompting further crews to arrive at the Rathgar Rd store.

"We had five fire appliances at the scene," a Fenz spokesman said at the scene.

"The fire was well-involved when we arrived, we were able to attack it, bringing it under control."

Forty minutes after firefighters arrived at the shop, police arrived at the scene.

A witness told the Herald about 12 officers armed with semi-automatic rifles and handguns arrived with canine units.

A police spokeswoman said the officers' deployment was because of a mistaken report of an armed person in the area.

Officers instead arrived to find the barbershop alight. A scene guard remained in place overnight.

Firefighters worked past 4am to contain the fire, but the store was extensively damaged.

Fenz northern shift manager Kaisey Cook said a fire investigator would today visit the ruined 50m by 20m store.

There have been no reports of injuries.