UPDATE 11.30am: Police are searching for a person of interest in relation to a fire in Te Puna.

A police spokesperson says a dog squad is in attendance at the fire on Vernon Road in Minden.

The spokesperson says they responded to the request for assistance from Fire and Emergency at 10.13am.

Fire and Emergency northern communications shift manager Josh Pennefather says they were called to a car fire just after 10am.

'We had two fire trucks there and eight firefighters,” he says.

'The car fire had spread to some scrub that was nearby.”

He says the scrub fire was 100 metres by 30 metres in size and that has been put out.

'We're still there dampening down hot spots but the fire is extinguished.”

Josh says the cause of the fire is unkown at this stage.

"We normally notify police about car fires, to help locate the owner."

EARLIER: Reports are coming in of fire crews and police attending an incident at a property in Te Puna this morning.

A witness at the scene says there are two fire trucks and two police vehicles, including the dog squad, on Vernon road in Te Puna.

They say there is fire down a grass bank and they can see black smoke billowing from the area.

'It's just off the road and there is a house about 50m away from the fire.

'There are police here with a dog squad, so they must be looking for someone.”

'The fire crew look like they have the fire under control.”

This is the second fire in the Western Bay of Plenty this morning. Four crews responded to a large shelterbelt fire in Kairua around 8.20 am.

SunLive will continue to monitor the situation and will update the story as information becomes available.

At the scene? Call 0800 SUNLIVE or email photos to newsroom@thesun.co.nz