Blaze at Asian food warehouse

File photo / NZ Herald

Firefighters battling a blaze at an Asian food storage warehouse in Hamilton have been forced to beat a retreat as walls surrounding it threaten to collapse.

The fire, at a 15m by 15m building in an industrial area of suburban Franklin, broke out about 4.45am.

Waikato area commander Roy Breeze said the building was separated by fire walls from the Hamilton Workingmen's Club and a joinery business.

"So those fire walls have certainly done their job ... there's hardly a puff of smoke in the workingmen's club,'' he told APNZ.

The blaze had been contained but the heat of it - exacerbated by such things as cooking oil - had opened cracks in the walls, forcing the retreat of firefighters.

"So obviously we are treading carefully,'' Mr Breeze said.

The roof had come down so an aerial unit was being used to dampen down hotspots from a distance, he said.

The cause of the fire was being investigated but there was nothing to suggest it was suspicious.

Nine fire crews fought the blaze at its peak.