Firefighters remain at site of Palmerston North factory fire

Around four trucks and one aerial appliance responded to the fire. Photo / File

Firefighters remain on site at a Palmerston North factory that had burst into flames earlier today.

A Fire Service spokesman says they'd been called to the Milson Foundry, on Malden Street, Milson at around one this afternoon.

They were initially alerted to the fire by an automated fire alarm from the foundry, which was followed shortly after by a 111 call confirming there was a fire.

The spokesman says the flames were visible from the outside, but because the service had a station adjacent to the foundry, firefighters were able to respond quickly.

Around four trucks and one aerial appliance responded to the fire and managed to bring it under control fairly quickly.

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There were 10 to 20 staff working on the site at the time the fire broke out.

The spokesman says three pumping appliances with around 10 to 15 staff are still working the scene.

He says it's unclear just how long they'll have to stay there.

However, because of the large amount of "hazardous materials" including asbestos, it was difficult to determine what was the source of the fire.

The Fire Service spokesman confirms fire investigators would be investigating the cause of the fire and WorkSafe NZ would be paying the site a visit tomorrow.