Auckland strip club might be out of action after fire

Auckland's Showgirls is likely to be out of action for awhile, after a "slow smouldering fire" damaged some 50 percent of the building.

On arrival, firefighters found smoke coming from the first floor.People were inside the building when the fire broke out but everybody left the building safely.

"Some of the staff were a little bit more scantily clad than they probably would've like to have been," Fire Service incident controller Chris Lind said.

A good fire alarm system in the building and "early intervention" from the Fire Service helped ensure nobody was hurt in the fire, he said.

Senior station officer Chris Lind attended the call out to the fire at 12:35 this morning.

He said it was a "good save", as even arriving five minutes later could have been too late.

"There was a potential for a complete loss."

Mr Lind said the fire, which was in the roof between the first and ground floor, had likely been burning for sometime.

However, he said given its nature there would have been little signs it was underway.

Fortunately for the club residents in the apartment next door spotted the fire and called in the firefighters.

The club, which was in action at the time, was subsequently evacuated.

Mr Lind said structurally the building was still sound but there had been a bit of water damage and smoke damage.

The ceiling had also been pulled down to let the firefighters put out the fire.

Nine trucks, 35 firefighters and two aerial appliances were used to get the fire under control.

Fire investigators will be in this morning to establish the exact cause.