Four people needed rescuing due to a fire in an apartment above shops in Otara, south Auckland.

Police are speaking to four people rescued from a burning apartment in south Auckland.

The Fire Service was called to the second storey of the building on Bairds Rd, Otara, at 8.35am on Wednesday.

Otara station officer Ken Manderson said the fire started in an apartment above the ASB.



It was not yet known exactly how it started but police were treating it as suspicious.



His crew rescued four people who were "of interest to police", he said.

ANNA LOREN Fire services are at the scene of a fire which left four people trapped and in need of rescue.

Police inspector Willie Taylor said it was not clear if the group were suspects but they were "certainly witnesses to what happened".

Police were questioning the group and chasing a tip that others were seen running from the building when the fire started.

Otara town centre manager Rana Judge called police when he saw girls running around after the fire had started, as he thought it was suspicious.



"It had caught to the curtains, then we saw the girls running out to the roof.



"I went up there with the police and there was no other damage - just the curtains, and the fire service had made a hole in the ceiling to put some water in in case the fire went to the ceiling."

The burning building acted as both apartments and a shopping district.

Firefighters put out the fire which had taken hold of the second storey.

It was not clear how badly damaged the building was but there had been no injuries reported.