A boat building facility that erupted in flames on Tuesday morning is a "total loss", Fire and Emergency (FENZ) says.

Luckily no one was inside the building when the blaze began around 10am, Assistant District Commander Shaun Pilgrim told RNZ.

Photo: Calvin Samuel

Fourteen crews battled to contain the fire in the Auckland suburb of Glendene. Large plumes of grey smoke were sent across the west of the city.

Photo: Calvin Samuel

The cause was not yet known.

"There's still going to be a while before investigators can make entry," Pilgrim said. "The building is in a transition period where it's being relocated, the business is being relocated, so we've still got a lot of questions to ask."

It took about 40 minutes to quell.

"There's the odd little hotspot that they're dealing to, so it was good quick work by the responding crews."

Photo: Calvin Samuel

Because no one was inside, the fire was able to grow quite large before it was noticed, he said. But the lack of wind helped in extinguishing it.

"The plan for the rest of the day will be to just extinguish all the hot spots and try and determine a cause."

FENZ earlier advised people in the area to keep windows and doors closed to avoid any effects from smoke.

A fire in west Auckland, 28 April, 2026.
Photo: Dan Satherley / RNZ

Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.