'Spontaneous combustion': Fire investigator determines cause of restaurant blaze

A fire investigator believes an early morning blaze that damaged a Prebbleton restaurant was caused by a pile of hot tea towels.

Fire and Emergency NZ crews were called to the blaze at The Bridge on Springs Rd just after 5am on Wednesday.

Crews from the Lincoln and Wigram stations took about 40 minutes to bring the fire under control. 

Fire investigator Mitchell Jeffery was at the scene this morning.

He believes the blaze was caused by a pile of tea towels that had been washed and dried.

They were so hot they combusted, he said.

"At this stage, we are looking at it being spontaneous combustion."

Jeffery said the towels had been left in a bunch and the heat within them was enough to cause them to catch fire. 

"They were sitting there bunched up retaining all that heat so there still a bit of oil residue in and eventually, over time, it has combusted."   

A police spokesperson confirmed the fire did not appear to be suspicious and no one was injured.

The Bridge co-owner Melissa Smith said the fire was devastating.

"We are devastated but it’s contained and thankfully nobody hurt," she said.

She said the fire damaged the kitchen and they should be able to reopen the bar and eatery soon.

Springs Rd, the main route through Prebbleton, was closed to all traffic while crews worked on the fire. The road reopened earlier this morning.

The Bridge opened last year after new owners Melissa and Murray Smith took over the lease for the building in August.

It was previously home to an Armadillos restaurant which closed in 2022.