'It revs its guts out and blows up' - Pyramid of flaming cars extinguished at Palmerston North work party

The cars on fire. Photo / Supplied

A Palmerston North engineering company had the fire brigade called to its Christmas party after employees stacked six cars on top of each other and revved the engines until they exploded.

The stunt was orchestrated this afternoon in the work yards of manufacturing business MJ Custom Engineering on Napier Rd, Whakarongo.

Two fire trucks attended to extinguish the heap of flaming cars around 6pm today.

Palmerston North fire brigade extinguish a "massive pyramid" of flaming cars at MJ Custom Engineering's end of year work party in Whakarongo.

MJ Custom Engineering managing director Matthew Howard said the flaming car stack was a longstanding tradition at their end of year work parties.

"Basically we make a massive pyramid of cars, and we put a car on the top with a brick on the accelerator until it revs its guts out and blows up," Howard said.

"And usually it just catches on fire. It's a bloody good fire.

"It's just a work party, we do it every year, and every year the cops come, and the fire brigade, and put it out."

Howard said there were 35 MJ Custom Engineering staff at their Christmas celebration.

A Fire and Emergency spokesperson confirmed two fire trucks, from Ashurst and Milton, attended the blaze and extinguished it around 6.40pm today.

MJ Custom Engineering describes itself as a "Palmerston North based company that specialises in designing and maintaining custom manufacturing facilities around New Zealand".

The blaze was reportedly still going at 10pm the same day, December 21.