Westfield shopping centre in Albany on Auckland's North Shore evacuated after small fire

The fire broke out at the Westfield shopping centre in Albany, on the North Shore, about 10.20am. Photo / Supplied

It's believed the fire which led to the evacuation of Auckland's Albany Mall this morning was caused by a light bulb in a Babycity store.

The small fire broke out at the Westfield shopping centre about 10:20am, but was quickly extinguished by the people in the shop.

A Fire Service spokesman said when crew arrived the fire was already out. He said the whole mall was evacuated but people were allowed back in not long after.

Sales assistant Juno Zan der Veld said the first she heard of the fire was when a fellow staff member came running up to her frantically.

"He was saying: 'oh my god, there's a fire'."

She said they instructed the roughly fifteen to twenty customers to evacuate while one "nice gentleman" grabbed a nearby fire extinguisher and ladder to help put the fire out.

Zan der Veld said the fire service was called and she also extinguished the lights.

A popular Auckland shopping mall was evacuated this morning after a fire broke out at a baby shop. Photo / Doug Sherring

"It was a small fire, but it was just that it started to smell really bad and because it's an electrical fire it could end up a lot worse."

Zan der Veld said the store was closed for about three hours before reopening.

She said it was back to business as usual this afternoon.

The baby shop damaged by fire. Photo / Supplied