‘Everything is gone’: Fire tears through $2 shop warehouse

Monday, 7 April 2025

A fire in an industrial building in Maces Rd, Bromley in Christchurch sent billowed smoke across the city. ⁠

The owner of a business importing and supplying goods to $2 shops says a fire that ripped through his warehouse destroyed “everything” inside.

Firefighters responded to a “large building fire” in the suburb of Bromley about 1pm on Monday. By evening, it was “deep-seated” and not extinguished, but had been contained to the building. Crews would remain at the scene overnight.

The blaze started in a multi-occupancy building in a dense industrial area on Maces Rd. Fire crews prevented it from spreading. The building houses Ibees Ltd, which supplies goods to more than 35 $2 shops across the South Island. The company’s owner and director Nilay Dhameliya believed more than 4000 products were inside.

“The [firefighters] took me over there, I can see everything is gone,” he said. “I don’t know if anything is left or not.”

Firefighters tackle a blaze on Maces Rd in Bromley that sent a thick pall of black smoke across part of the city.

Dhameliya said he started the business seven years ago, expanding it from a 300m² site at the same address to a space nearly 1000m². It was the largest business of its kind in the South Island, he said.

At least 10 staff from Southern Woolpacks, which is joined to a storage building behind, were evacuated from their office.

“We thought it was just fire alarm drill,” Maxwell Burgerhout said.

Plumes of black smoke continued to pour from the building late on Monday afternoon.

His colleague, Lisa Wilson, said the mood changed when they saw thick black smoke pouring out of the warehouse. “One of the girls said ‘look at the smoke’, and everyone started running.”

Parts of the warehouse were destroyed by the flames. Others were barely damaged.

Southern Woolpacks branch manager Paul Bates said there were about 1000 wool bales on site between the business’ two warehouses ‒ one was in the multi-tenancy building on fire and the other was next door.

“We dodged a bullet, I think,” he said, after being allowed close to the site by the fire service.

There was “hazy smoke” still in the building and water damage, but “nowhere near what we thought there would be”.

Onlookers watch on as thick smoke billows into the air.

It was too early to say how many bales were damaged, he said.

The Press understands a battery recycling business also operates out of the building.

Fenz incident commander Dave Key said the fire was “still active” by mid-afternoon.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) urged people to stay inside and close all doors and windows if the smoke affected their property on Monday afternoon. Eight appliances, two aerial crews and 35 firefighters were on scene. Ten trucks were initially dispatched.

“We’ve started a fire investigation,” incident commander Dave Key said in a press conference at 3.30pm on Monday. “It is way too early to determine the cause,” he said.

“The first serving crews were quite effective in cutting the fire off in the middle of the building to stop it spreading towards Maces Rd.

“But … it is still active. So our efforts are concentrated on operations of putting the fire out and not spreading. As we move on we start to work a bit closer with the tenants and try and establish … the origin of the fire.”

Resident Sandy Adams said she heard a “pop bang” when the fire broke out.

“It was quite loud. The cat was on the couch and she jumped. There’s been a few flames higher than the building.”

The smoke from the blaze smelled like plastic, she said.

Ara student Xanthe Bridgeman said the smoke was “almost black”. “It started smelling like plastic but slowly drifted into a wood smell.”

Bromley School principal Scot Kinley said students were kept inside as a precaution due to the smoke.

“At this stage we can’t smell it, it’s blowing away, it’s dropping down in intensity, the colour is changing,” he said.

“The wind is in our favour … It hasn’t actually come near us.”