A firefighter has described the three-hour-long battle to contain an inferno which claimed a three-storey grain-processing plant in Elgin, Gisborne.

Fire and Emergency received reports of a well-involved building fire on Cochrane St about 7pm.

A spokesperson said a third alarm was transmitted in the next hour and crews were able to control it by 10pm.

A firefighter who was at the scene told the Herald when he got there flames had taken over all floors of the building.

“It took all our resources,” he said.

“Police did some evacuations for people living in the houses around it due to the smoke.”

Fumes coming out of a grain-processing plant in Elgin, Gisborne. Photo / Jim Reed

The building is located in Elgin. It is a processing plant for locally grown grains such as maize and corn, and was a big employer for the community.

The firefighter said in Gisborne they had one appliance which could go out immediately with volunteers and paid staff.

“It takes a while to get a second truck. Our resources are extremely stretched. We had a substantial house fire in the middle of floods as well and we did not have communication at that time.”

The firefighter said an investigator was at the scene today to establish the cause.

A fire at a grain-processing plant in Gisborne prompted residents' evacuation. Photo / Jim Reed

James Reed, who lives on the street adjacent to the plant on Chalmers Rd, said he heard banging and explosions.

“I saw everyone was out front and I saw huge fumes coming out of the plant. Fire engines were parked there.

“Police closed off the roads from either end and pushed us far away because of the explosions.

“I took my car and went to my daughter’s, I stayed there until 11pm.”

Reed said he was worried about the fire because the plant was a “pretty old complex”.

“It was quite the fight for the time I saw it; firefighters did a brilliant job.”

Reed said the fire had added to the stress and anxiety many in the city were facing.

“We are stressed enough as it is, now there is even more anxiety.”

Police had a scene guard at the location overnight, a spokesperson said.

The cordons had been stood down and residents had returned to their homes last night.