A person with serious injuries was airlifted to Christchurch Hospital after a fire at an industrial building in Timaru this morning.
Fire and Emergency NZ initially sent 10 crews - from the Timaru, St Andrews, Temuka and Washdyke fire stations - to the large fire in High St near Timaru Hospital just before 9am.
A spokesperson told RNZ the fire at the industrial premises was fully out by 3.45pm and the building handed back to its owner.
A police spokesperson said they were called to the scene just after 9am.
One person was seriously injured and taken to Christchurch Hospital by helicopter, RNZ reported.
Hato Hone St John sent an ambulance, rapid response unit, operations manager and helicopter to the scene.
A section of High St was closed and members of the public advised to avoid the area.
A nearby business owner, Ken Cox from Coxy's Panel Repairs, told RNZ the fire was huge.
"The flames were probably a couple of metres above the roof from what I could see."
A stack of 205-litre metal drums exploded and loud popping reverberated across the area, he said.
Nearby resident Stephie Margaret told Stuff the fire was out of control for about 15 minutes.
“It reached the stacks of metal drums which started exploding. It also burnt part of the building beside it.”
Video footage of the blaze showed flames and black smoke coming from the building.
- additional reporting from RNZ
