'Dangerous work': Up to 40 firefighters and support crew battle blaze in Papakura

Up to 40 firefighters and support workers battled a blaze at an industrial unit in the Auckland suburb of Papakura overnight, after initial fears there may have been people in the building.

Fire and Emergency NZ was called about 11.15pm to the fire on Markedo Place, arriving to find one unit ablaze, Counties Manukau acting assistant area commander Brendon Irwin said.

In the past there had been issues with tenants living in the units, Irwin said.

"We were initially concerned that there may be someone inside the building but that's proved not to be the case."

Between 30 and 40 firefighters and support staff attended, Irwin said last night. The fire had been extinguished and crews were mopping up and checking the fire had not spread to other units in the block and could not reignite.

As the unit appeared to be used for automotive work there were probably oils, fuels and tyres that had contributed to the blaze."

"It's dangerous work for our staff - not just from the fuels and other hazards in there but there can be hole in the floor, unknown objects, high racking - so any fire in a commercial building definitely has significant dangers."

There appeared to be "nothing untoward" about the fire.

However fire investigators are heading to the scene at 9am to determine what caused the blaze, Fire and Emergency NZ northern shift manager Craig Dally said.

At 6am one crew was still at the scene, Dally said.