The bodies of cars smouldered yesterday as fire investigators examined the burnt remains of a Dunedin panelbeating business.
Bodyline Collision Panel and Paint owner Sean Blair spent the day contacting customers whose vehicles were at his Wharf St business when it was destroyed by fire.
On Tuesday night, 44 firefighters battled the blaze as pressurised paint, paint thinner and lpg canisters exploded.
''There's half a million dollars worth of cars in there and owners wanting answers,'' Mr Blair said yesterday, rushing to a meeting with his insurance broker and staff.
For the meeting, Mr Blair borrowed an office at neighbouring business Ellison's Aluminium. Mr Blair said he was ''absolutely gutted'' by the fire.
''I'm very emotional about it. It's just gut-wrenching, not just for me but the guys that work there.
''A lot of guys have worked for several years. We work as a family team.''
Inside the building were the blackened bodies of 27 vehicles including a 1969 Ford Mustang, HR Holden stationwagon and VW Kombi van.
''The rest are brand new cars - 2014 and 2015-model cars,'' Mr Blair said.
The front of a Ford Mondeo parked outside had melted.
Mr Blair said his ''comprehensive'' insurance policy included $4 million liability cover and cover to pay staff wages for up to a year.
''I always thought it [the insurance] was dear, but when you look at it now, it's not so dear, is it?''The insurance claim was the first he had lodged since starting the business 11 years ago, he said.
He hoped his business would reopen.
''We've got a massive client base, and I started 11 years ago from nothing ... I haven't wasted the last 11 years of my life to build something up to have it go in a fire.''
His 10 full-time staff spent most of the night with him as the business burned.
''There are some big decisions to be made in the next week or so, on what we are going to be doing going forward.''
Mr Blair had no idea how the fire started.
Dunedin City Senior Station Officer Pete Douglas said ''hotspots'' in the building were still smouldering when his crew arrived on the scene yesterday morning.
''We are here to make sure nothing flares up.''
However, there was not much left inside the building to burn. The explosions during the fire had ''buckled'' the building and compromised its integrity.
''It's pushed walls out, so the guys [night duty firefighters] ... to control the fire, in the environment like they did, is absolutely amazing.''
The blaze was extinguished externally - no firefighters entered the building, he said.
When firefighters could not enter a building, it was difficult to get water to the flames.
''Everything had come down inside it, so you are trying to put a fire out that is effectively buried.''
Roller doors had to be cut open to let firefighters reachthe blaze.
Mr Douglas said he could not recall a bigger ''residential, commercial or industrial'' fire in Dunedin in recent years.
Investigators were inspecting the building yesterday and finding the cause of the fire could take days, he said. They would return to the scene today.
The neighbouring business, Ellison's Aluminium, had minimal water damage. Vehicle owners visited yesterday to inspect the damage from behind the yellow barricade tape.
A man, who did not want to be named, said he could see his scorched Mitsubishi Lancer Evolution inside.
''No lights, no number plates, no wheels, no nothing ... I'm gutted.''
