Warehouse fire could take days to put out

Firefighters could be at the scene of a major blaze that started in a Christchurch paper recycling factory today for days.

Twelve fire engines were sent to the Colleridge factory in the suburb of Bromley after the alarm was raised at 5am today.

"When the crews walked in there was nothing, just a small flame in the ceiling," Christchurch deputy chief fire officer Greg Crawford said.

"Twenty seconds later it flashed across the roof," he told NZPA.

By 7.30am, the factory, which is crammed full of compressed recycled paper, was fully alight but had been contained.

"We're basically employing the 'surround and drown' technique using unmanned pumps around the factory."

The fire had been contained within the factory's concrete walls, which were bowing and "moving about a bit".

Firefighters would be at the scene for the next two or three days, he said.

"It'll be keeping us busy for days because we have to break down each bale looking for hot spots."

He said he could not say what had started the fire because it was too dangerous to enter the factory.

- NZPA