Neighbours who witnessed the dramatic fire that destroyed McDonald’s Pakuranga have spoken of the fear and high anxiety they felt, while the company’s head office is already planning for how it can reopen the restaurant.

The spectacular blaze that gutted the fast-food restaurant at 472 Pakuranga Road, opposite Lloyd Elsmore Park and next to the Z fuel station on the corner of Fortunes Road near Highland Park, started just before 3pm last Monday, May 5.

Dark toxic smoke emitting from the fire could be seen from long distances across the east Auckland area.

Investigations continue into the cause of and reason for the destructive blaze, say police.

“We are treating this fire as a suspected arson,” said detective senior sergeant Michele Gillespie, of Counties Manukau Police CIB, on Tuesday.

After the blaze was completely extinguished on Monday evening, a Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) spokesperson said: “A FENZ fire investigator has deemed this fire to be suspicious and referred it to police for further investigation.”

The Times has been in communication with McDonald’s national headquarters, asking if it could get reaction to the fire from the franchise owner-operators of the Pakuranga restaurant.

That’s not possible at this time because they’re coming to terms with the severe blow it has dealt their business, but McDonald’s national spokesman Simon Kenny told the Times: “Unfortunately, the McDonald’s Pakuranga restaurant has suffered extensive damage due to a fire.

“The emergency services have handed the site over to McDonald’s. Our team is working to secure the site and assess next steps with the plan to reopen the restaurant.

“We’re also supporting the franchisee and his team, including through our employee assistance provider, Sonder, and will continue to work with impacted staff over the coming days and weeks.”

Neighbours’ reactions

The Times visited the site of the previously always busy McDonald’s Pakuranga on Wednesday, finding the melted and mangled, charred structure fenced with black wrap.

Business employees and residents who operate and live close to the McDonald’s were all in agreeance: They were concerned at the time that the fire could have leapt to the adjacent Z fuel station, which could have been catastrophic, and relieved the dangerous, poisonous smoke was blowing away from their shops and homes, upwards and towards Lloyd Elsmore Park.

Hemanshu Rathod, of the nearby @Food Culture store that stocks South African products, said he saw the fire start at the “backside” of the McDonald’s near the “playground”.

“It was horrible. It’s the first time I’ve seen a fire like that.

“The [FENZ] fire team did a pretty good job. Everything was under control by about 4.15pm.”

Ivy Li lives in a home in usually quiet Tate Grove over the back fence from the McDonald’s premises and Z station.

Through an English-Mandarin languages translator, she said she was “feeling scared” when the fire broke out.

“I was afraid that the gas station would be affected.”

Reverend Amos Muzondiwa, of Trinity Methodist Church in Pakuranga Road that also borders the McDonald’s property, said the fire “was a shock”.

“It was concerning because this community has not experienced anything like that.

“My first big worry was the petrol station, if the fire had got to it.”

Trinity Kindergarten is on the same large property as the church and Rev Muzondiwa says fortunately because of the time of day, around 3pm, only a few preschool children were in attendance, as well as six teachers.

As the blaze and smoke grew, he asked the kindergarten teachers and young ones to evacuate the premises immediately.

But he said it was “bad timing” for a fire, as it was school pick-up time for nearby Pakuranga College and there was a lot of traffic in the area.

Another resident of Tate Grove, Dorothy Hancock, told the Times one of her neighbours phoned her about the fire.

“We were told we had better get out, so I calmly closed all the windows because of the smoke and went to friends.”

Pakuranga College principal Billy Merchant said he and the school staff took instructions from emergency services personnel.

“We helped to direct students safely away from the fire alongside police.

“All our students complied with directions and returned to their homes safely, with police commenting on the positive behaviour they saw from Pakuranga College students.

“Thank you to our emergency services who responded promptly and secured the area,” said Merchant.

After the fire had been extinguished between 4pm and 5pm on Monday, police said officers guarded the restaurant site overnight.

First thing on Tuesday morning, a scene examination was conducted, with police working alongside a FENZ fire investigator.

“As part of these enquiries we were working to understand how the fire originated,” said detective senior sergeant Gillespie.

She continues the public appeal that police would like to hear from anyone who saw suspicious activity prior to the fire at McDonald’s Pakuranga.

“If you have information to assist enquiries, please contact police on 105 using the reference number 250505/2106.”

Information can also be provided by members of the public anonymously via Crime Stoppers on free phone 0800 555 111.

• For earlier Times stories about the fire that gutted McDonald’s Pakuranga on Monday, May 5, read:

https://www.times.co.nz/business/investigation-launched-into-fire-at-mcdonalds/

https://www.times.co.nz/news/breaking-news-fire-at-mcdonalds-pakuranga/