A large fire has engulfed a commercial site that houses a grocer in the east Auckland suburb of Pakuranga this afternoon.

Fire and Emergency NZ said it was alerted to the fire on Cortina Pl at 12.07pm on Friday.

It came as professional firefighters went on strike as part of ongoing industrial action.

“The fire at a commercial property is well involved and has threatened a second neighbouring property.”

The blaze broke out in Pakuranga shortly after midday, at a time when professional firefighters were taking part in industrial action. (Source: 1News)

St John said one person was taken to Middlemore Hospital in a serious condition.

FENZ said volunteers from Beachlands, Clevedon, Laingholm, Waitakere and senior officers were at the scene with further volunteer crews on the way.

“Due to the location, it took 30 minutes for the nearest volunteer crews to travel to the incident. The nearest career station is Mount Wellington, and they would have arrived on scene within seven minutes.”

“This is exactly why we have been calling on the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union to call off these strikes while we are in the process of facilitation with the Employee Relations Authority.

“By going on strike and rejecting calls to set up a process to respond to more serious incidents the NZPFU are gambling with the public’s safety.”

Fire and Emergency NZ said it was alerted to the fire on Cortina Pl at 12.07pm.

Fire and Emergency NZ said it was alerted to the fire on Cortina Pl at 12.07pm. (Source: 1News)

Flames and black smoke could be seen billowing from Pita House, beside the Rā Hihi Flyover.

Professional firefighters have stopped work for an hour as part of ongoing industrial action by the New Zealand Professional Firefighters Union (NZPFU).

“FENZ say they have contingencies. FENZ could have prevented this. They could have averted this strike at any time,” the union wrote on Facebook.

Fire damage to Pita House in Auckland's Pakuranga.

Fire damage to Pita House in Auckland’s Pakuranga. (Source: 1News)

Photos from the scene show police and St John also at the scene.

Dennis Chong, who witnessed the blaze and was evacuated with his colleagues from a nearby building, told 1News he saw lots of smoke and fire coming from the roof of the building just after 12pm.

“I was close to it and the heat hit my face,” he said.

Auckland Transport said two bus routes would detour due to the fire.

The 70 bus would detour through Gossamer Dr and Pakuranga Rd, while the 711 bus would detour through Lewis Rd and Reeves Rd.