A Dunedin woman was left “shaken” after her car burst into flames in a busy city street on Tuesday morning.

Senior Fire Officer Pete O’Shea said the incident happened just before 10am in Cumberland St.

The driver told fire officers she thought it was just steam at first, but pulled over to the side of the road as she smelt smoke coming out of the car.

 

The BMW then burst into flames.

 

Smoke billows out of the BMW 540i in Cumberland St this morning. Photo: Grant McKenzie

Sun and Snow Dunedin were actually the first on the scene, and called Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz).

By this stage, a store member was attempting to use a hose to dampen down the fire.

The woman had got out of the car and was comforted by  staff.

“She seemed pretty shaken,” Mr O’Shea said.

Firefighters extinguish the car fire in Cumberland St. Photo: Gerard O'Brien

Sun and Snow store manager Steve Combes said the fire started “very quickly”, while a witness who saw the event across the road heard a loud “bang” as the vehicle burst into flames.

“It certainly caught everyone’s attention.”

Fire and Emergency NZ were uncertain what caused the fire.