Fire contained at Te Puke sawmill

Ten fire engines were called to the blaze at Pukepine Sawmills. File photo.

Firefighters faced with a blaze at a Bay of Plenty sawmill feared it would spread to a nearby sawdust silo.

The Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade was called just after 6am to Pukepine Sawmills on Te Puke Highway.

A boiler room of about 30m by 20m was well ablaze when firefighters arrived, says chief fire officer Glenn Williams.

"Our main objective when we got here was just to prevent it spreading to any neighbouring structures, including a sawdust silo.

"We definitely didn't want that to catch fire."

He says 10 fire engines - including two tankers - were on site at the peak of the blaze.

By 8.20am, firefighters were checking through to make sure it was completely out.

A fire investigator was present and looking into the cause.

Glenn says once the investigator finished, the building owners were keen to get in and demolish it.

There was one staff member at the site when firefighters arrived, but he was unsure if that person was a shift worker or a watchman.

According to the Pukepine website, the sawmill was established in 1998 and is owned by the Tanner family.

- Stuff

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