Police are now at the scene of a fire in the heart of Mount Maunganui's main shopping area.
Firefighters are putting out a fire which is burning an exterior wall down a lane which comes off Maunganui Rd, near Prince St.
Black smoke can be seen billowing out above shops as crowds gather.
Zac Gray was in the area when the fire broke out and said he heard a large bang which he thought could have been a window blowing out.
"Looks like the building in front of flames will suffer quite a bit of smoke damage. Smoke was coming out of the front of the building on the roadside," he said.
