Fire in timber plant

A timber treatment plant came close to going up in smoke early this morning after a fire broke out in timber shortly before 1am.
Tauranga Fire Brigade senior station officer Phil Price said firefighters arrived at North Sawn Lumber in Aviation Ave, Mount Maunganui, to find smoke coming from the back of the building.
They forced their way inside to find the interior thick with smoke.
Two crews of firefighters used a thermal imaging camera to find the seat of the blaze.
"We could see flames and a glow through all the smoke," Mr Price said.
The firefighters found 26 large bundles of timber ablaze which had to be removed from the building using a forklift.
Manager of the business Danny Bond said there was no damage to the building.
Mr Price said staff had been working at the factory until about midnight, where they were using a gas brander, with a flame, to mark the wood.
The fire gave Western Bay firefighters the first opportunity to use their new $800,000 command unit.
The blaze followed an earlier fire in a large pile of logs and timber stacked next to a shipping container behind a Gobbo's Tyre Services on Hull Rd, Mount Maunganui last night.
Mount Maunganui and Tauranga firefighters were called to the blaze about 9.45pm where they found a stack of large logs and timber, presumed to be firewood, well alight.
Mr Price said the fire had not damaged the items stored inside, including a motorbike. Michelle McPherson