Five fire crews were called to battle a large fire inside a Rotorua motel late this morning.
A Fire and Emergency spokesman said firefighters were called to the Golden Glow Motel on Fenton St at 11.21am.
"It was well-involved on arrival."
No one was injured in the fire, the spokesman said.
Five fire crews from Rotorua, Ngongotahā and Mamaku were called to the scene and put out the fire, he said.
The Rotorua Daily Post understands the fire was in the roof of the motel, which has been used for emergency housing.
Smoke could be seen from as far away as Western Heights and part of the street was temporarily blocked off by police.
Earlier:
A Rotorua woman was driving down Fenton St from the south end towards the city when she saw the thick black smoke billowing from the motel, which is next to Oppies Fish and Chips and Chinese Takeaway shop.
"Police were starting to block off the road and we had to turn left down Malfroy Rd. I looked back and just saw thick black clouds. It looked bad."
She said it was worrying considering there had only recently been a fire at the Four Canoes Hotel, a motel contracted by the Government and used as transitional housing.
A staff member at Oppies said police were blocking off parts of Fenton St and there were fire trucks and ambulances on the scene.
"There's a big fire … there [is] quite a lot of people around the scene. There was a lot of smoke earlier [and] the smoke was covering a lot of the street and you couldn't see much."
Oppies had to block off their front entrance, but people could still access the back entrance.
A reporter at the scene said police had blocked the road and were diverting people away from the scene.
They had blocked Fenton St about 400m from the fire and were diverting people through Central Mall carpark. Fenton St heading south has since been opened.
She said the plume of smoke was huge.
Rotovegas Motel owner Bryce Smart, whose motel is also on Fenton St and under a Government contract for social housing, said it was a shame to hear the Golden Glow Motel could be extensively damaged as everyone needed a place to sleep.
"That could potentially take out 10 to 20 rooms, which will just put more pressure on people needing somewhere to live."
He said the fire was a good reminder for moteliers to ensure their fire safety plans were up to date.
He said his staff checked smoke alarms were working on a weekly basis given they could stop at any time because of the sulphur in the air.
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