UP to 15 tonnes of meat and three shops have been destroyed in a suspicious early morning fire.
The 1.45am blaze ripped through the Whakatane Salvation Army Store, Bernina Whakatane and the storage shed of Export Meat Warehouse in Kopeopeo, causing thousands of dollars worth of damage and
destroying the buildings.
Bernina owner Pat Hall said she received a call from her security firm at 1.50am and was at the scene of the fire minutes later.
"I actually looked out of the window while I was still at home and thought it was quite foggy," Mrs Hall said.
"But when we got down here the flames were twice as high as the building, glass was exploding and there was smoke everywhere."
Mrs Hall, who has had the Bernina store for the past 11 years, described the fire as horrific.
She was able to retrieve the store cheque book and the blackened till takings once the fire had been put out.
Export Meat Warehouse owner Kevin Muncaster said there was between 12 and 15 tonnes of meat in his storage shed.
"We had about 12 pellets of pork bones delivered on Monday," Mr Muncaster said.
"The shed is now full of baked potatoes and char-grilled steak and onions."
He was unsure whether his refrigeration units were ruined.
His nearby King St store received minor smoke damage.
A philosophical Mr Muncaster said a planned holiday was now likely to be put on hold.
Sodden clothes from the Salvation Army store were being pulled from the building by a forklift as smoke continued to waft from the roof.
Firefighters from Whakatane, Ohope and Edgecumbe battled the blaze and were still at the scene at daybreak.
Fire Safety Officer Jon Rewi said he expected staff to be there most of the morning.
"My investigation will also take the better part of the day," Mr Rewi said.
He declined to comment on the cause of the fire.
Whakatane Sergeant Andrew O'Reilly said three people were spoken to at the scene but were not thought to be involved.
A section of King St had been cordoned off this morning as the investigation continued.
