A fire investigator will head to the scene of a large fire in South Auckland last night; that forced the closures of roads and a motorway off-ramp and the evacuation of nearby buildings.

Emergency services were called to the scene shortly after 8pm after reports of the blaze on Great South Rd in Takanini.

Fire and Emergency NZ and police closed part of the busy Great South Rd for the safety of locals and emergency service personnel.

Northern fire communications said this morning that the blaze had since been extinguished and that one truck remained on site to monitor any hot spots.

FENZ said last night that although the fire had been contained, the building involved - understood to be a restaurant - was in the middle of a block of shops and the fire then had a high risk of spreading.

The blaze had engulfed two-thirds of the two-storey building, authorities said.

Nine fire trucks and two ladder trucks were trying to put out the blaze. There were no reported injuries.

Police said Great South Rd, between Spartan Rd and Manuroa Rd, had been closed. The southbound motorway off-ramp at Takanini had also been closed.

Motorists were asked to avoid the area and take an alternate route.

Concerned locals on social media said the property on fire was believed to be an Indian restaurant.

A worker at the BP petrol station next to the fire’s location said they had to be evacuated out of fear the flames would spread.

Their fuel pumps were switched off as a precaution. They had since been allowed back inside.

Manurewa-Papakura Ward councillor Daniel Newman commended the Fire Service for mobilising numerous trucks and responding to the incident.

“This fire will put pressure on our crews this evening and it will require traffic to divert away from that part of the Great South Auckland. There are a number of businesses in that particular block and I am very sad for the affected business owners,” Newman said.

“But I want to express my gratitude for Fire and Emergency who have been on site for several hours now. The location of the fire and the facilities around it mean a comprehensive response is necessary to contain then extinguish the blaze.”