The blaze that damaged dozens of cars in a Whangarei Hospital carpark this afternoon is believed to have been caused by a hot exhaust pipe that ignited long grass nearby.
Fire investigator Jason Goffin said CCTV footage appeared to confirm that.
He said a vehicle had parked near long grass and the hot exhaust pipe appeared to have ignited a fire which spread along a row of parked cars in the strong wind.
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Fire and Emergency (FENZ) said the fire has now been contained and they were now dampening down hotspots.
FENZ said they were called to the scene around 2pm and have found both cars and vegetation on fire.
Five fire trucks and about 20 firefighters tackled the blaze, with brigades coming from Onerahi, Portland, Kamo and Whangārei.
The aftermath of the blaze shows the grassy berm that bordered the car parks. Photo: RNZ / Susan Edmunds
FENZ said about 28 cars have been damaged, but could not confirm how many were destroyed.
A doctor at the hospital said flames and thick black smoke could be seen coming from the cars.
She said the fire is well away from the clinical area of the hospital.
The aftermath of the fire at the Whangārei Hospital car park. Photo: RNZ / Peter de Graaf
Janine Cubitt, who was visiting and watching from the fifth floor of a hospital building, said she saw the fire spreading across the vehicles.
"Saw it moving along, started off with two cars, then moved along, there's gotta be at least 12 to 15 cars involved in it," she said.
A fire in a Whangārei Hospital carpark has damaged as least 28 cars. Photo: Susan Edmunds
She said she could hear loud popping sounds, and could see things coming out of cars windows and flying up in the air.
Cubitt said there had been a couple of cars that had their fires put out, but later recaught fire.
Health NZ said the hospital remained open and there were no reports of injuries.
Spokesperson Alex Pimm said they were working with emergency services to ensure staff and patient safety.
The affected car park holds about 200 staff vehicles, and people have been unable to enter to retrieve their cars.
Pimm said staff have been offered transportation home.
See how events unfolded with RNZ's liveblog:
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