Fire crews are still at the scene of a major fire that has destroyed a large building in Hawera overnight.
Fire Service central shift manager Jan Wills said two fire trucks remain dampening down the smouldering Smith Bros Trading building.
Fire safety officers are to take a closer look at daybreak to determine the cause of the blaze.
At its height, 15 fire crews from around the region raced to battle the blaze that threatened neighbouring homes and a building with potentially explosive material in it.
"There was some danger to another building behind it that had tyres and fuel in it and also to residents next door but they managed to stop those from getting any damage."
Ms Wills said there were a lot of vehicles stored in the badly damaged building. There were initially fears racing cars and high octane fuel was also housed in the same premises but they were found to be elsewhere, she said.
