Residents of a row of flats in Bowmont St, Appleby were evacuated about 10.30am today after smoke was spotted coming from one of the unit's roofs.
Three crews, two from Invercargill and one from Kingswell were sent and immediately got on to the roof to get to the fire in the ceiling.
Kingswell station officer Nick Barclay said 12 firefighters attended, four of whom took breathing apparatus into the unit.
The residents were not at home at the time but arrived once firefighters entered.
It took about 10 minutes to extinguish the fire before crews continued with their search for hot spots in the ceiling.
Mr Barclay said the next step was to check neighbours had working smoke alarms and if not, they would be installed.
A fire investigator was on their way.
Street residents looked on as crews got the fire under control and ran safety checks.
The neighbour of the unit where the kitchen fire started, who wished to remain anonymous, said she was alerted by a knock on the door from a fellow resident.
She took her keys, phone and cat with her, hoping it had not spread to her unit.
Firefighters were able to prevent the fire from catching on to surrounding structures.
Mr Barclay said the fire served as a reminder to check smoke alarms were always working.
