A “massive” building fire in the east Auckland suburb of Burswood has closed the road and reduced traffic to a standstill during rush hour.

Police were assisting Fire and Emergency NZ on Ti Rakau Drive after being notified about the blaze at5pm today.

Traffic control is being undertaken by police around Ti Rakau Drive and motorists are reporting long delays.

It’s understood the fire is at TruDesign Plastics factory.

A worker at Mobil on Ti Rakau Drive said the fire was opposite the gas station.

“Somewhere around 5 o’clock, I saw the black…smoke. After 5 minutes, I saw the flames of the fire, and it was massive,” the petrol station worker said.

The fire appeared to be under control now, she said.

“After 5 or 10 minutes the fire brigade was there and they controlled it. It was big and the flames were very high.”

David Ball, who worked about 1km from the fire, said he sat in traffic for 20 minutes before being turned around by police near Trugood Drive.

“You could see heaps of fire engines,” he said.

“The traffic is pretty bad,” he said, describing it as “gridlocked”.

St John sent one rapid response unit to a fire on Ti Rakau Drive in Burswood at 5pm.

Ti Rakau Drive is closed between Gossamer Drive and Trugood Drive and motorists are asked to avoid the area as there is significant congestion.

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