Rotorua fire: Investigator to return to scene, cause remains unknown

Fire crews left the scene at 2.26pm after the fire was extinguished. Photo / Andrew Warner.

A fire in part of Rotorua's industrial area that sent black billowing smoke into the air and seen throughout the city is not being treated as suspicious.

The fire was reported to emergency services about 12.30pm yesterday at a commercial building on View Rd. Fire crews were there for about two hours.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand spokesman confirmed a fire investigator was returning to the scene this morning but, at this stage, the fire was not being treated as suspicious.

The fire on View Rd yesterday is not being treated as suspicious. Photo / Andrew Warner

The two-storey building, about 20m by 30m, was "well-involved" when crews arrived. There was nobody inside the building and no reports of injuries, he said.

Yesterday, a bystander told the Rotorua Daily Post, the fire was in full swing. The bystander walked outside after hearing loud pops to see the building ablaze.

The bystander said the fire was "burning really hot" and there was "tonnes of black smoke".

Another Rotorua resident said he could see the fire from CBD while another could see the smoke from Hamurana, on the other side of Lake Rotorua.