He received a call about the fire and rushed to the scene, he said.
No one had been at work on Wednesday, he said.
Witnesses reported a large initial boom and a lot of additional noises following that. There were also flames very high in the air, and a considerable amount of smoke.
Jeff Ottaway from DDS Contracting, which is next door to the fire, said there were plumes of smoke everywhere.
Police cordon at the scene of a fire in Manurewa. Photo / Jason Oxenham
He said the site is a car wreckers, where they "chop up cars and sell the parts" - so there were a lot of tyres and car parts.
"When that smoke was going up it was pretty intimidating," he said.
Ottaway said Fire and Emergency had told him it would be six hours before they could return to work.
Police said they were assisting FENZ with traffic management and that Jutland Rd in Manurewa had been closed.
The blaze had also forced train delays and cancellations on the Southern rail line.
Ryan Marshall of Pearce Brothers Manurewa said it is the biggest fire he has seen.
"One of the centre managers called the parents to come and pick up their children, while other staff did the evacuation," she said.
"A lot of them were worried, but we told them their children are safe with us."
Talaepa said they were happy when they were told it was safe to return as children were "starving and busting to go to the toilet".
MAICH RD, MANUREWA - FIRE - 12:00 NOON Due to a large fire traffic management is being set in the Maich Rd area, west of the Manurewa Shopping Centre. Please avoid this area or expect diversion & delays. ^TP pic.twitter.com/q1tw3QsT8l