Nineteen people are being assessed after a chemical incident at an industrial area in the North Island town of Levin.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand told the Herald three trucks from Levin and Ōtaki, plus three specialist crews from Palmerston North, were attending the incident on Hamaria Rd.

“Crews were called to the incident about 6.30pm and upon arrival it was escalated to a second alarm,” a shift manager said.

“Crews are working to isolate the leak and there is no current risk to the public.

“We are currently going through the decontamination process.”

Police confirmed officers have set up cordons around the area.

Hato Hone St John said 11 vehicles attended the incident - five ambulances, three first response units, two operations managers, and the major incident support team.

“Nineteen patients are currently being assessed at the scene,” it said on its alerts site. “No further information is available at this time.”