A blaze in a commercial building in central Christchurch is under control, with fire safety officers now investigating its cause.
The single-storey building in Welles Street, which runs between Colombo Street and Manchester Street, was well ablaze when crews arrived after 11am on Sunday.
Thick black smoke billowed over the city from the blaze.
The cause of the fire was not yet clear and it was not known if the building was occupied at the time.
Fire southern communications shift manager Daryl Ball told NZ Newswire the blaze was under control before 3pm, with fire crews dampening down hotspots.
Fire safety officers had visited the scene.
Mr Ball was unable to say whether the fire was suspicious.
