As her charity shop went up in flames, all Sue Turner could do was stand back and watch.

Seven fire engines were sent to the fire, which started about 12.30pm on Wednesday and gutted three shops on the main street of Paeroa.

The first sign for Turner and husband Bear was smoke coming under the kitchen door as they sat at the counter in charity shop Forget Me Not Opportunity Shop, and the blaze quickly became uncontrollable.

"We all stayed back and watched it go up in flames," she told Stuff.

Supplied photo/Stuff.

At the first sign of smoke, her husband went out the back and saw flames by storage boxes for the charity shop, which gives to several local non-profit groups.

Forgot Me Not owner Sue Turner's husband went for a fire extinguisher, but flames started travelling up the walls and plastic was dripping from the ceiling.Photo: Christel Yardley/Stuff.

He went to get a fire extinguisher, but noticed it had started travelling up the wall.

'Plastic was dripping from the roof and the flames were growing bigger and bigger.”

Realising it wasn't safe to stay in the building, they both got out and called the fire brigade.

It's still unknown what caused the fire, but Turner suspects an electrical issue.

'We have low liability insurance, but not content insurance, but we will be OK.

'This won't be the end of us.”

Seven emergency vehicles were sent to the Belmont Road fire, a spokesperson from Paeroa fire station says.

Two vehicles were from Paeroa while other support vehicles drove in from Waihī and Te Aroha.

Firefighters quickly contained the blaze, Waikato District manager for Fire and Emergency Daryl Trim says.

'The shop is significantly damaged. A fire investigator is investigating the cause and origin of the fire”.

Police were also called about 12.45pm and assisted with traffic management, a spokesperson says.

At the bakery two doors down to Forget Me Not, workers Jessica Cheum and Phlla Khuy noticed a putrid smell as they were serving customers.

'We thought some had burnt something next door and kept working, making the coffee and pies, and then the lady next door told us to get out because the fire was coming next to our building,” Cheum says.

The flames came across the ceiling, turning all the light fittings black, she says.

'I had forgotten to close the door so quickly ran back in while the smoke was billowing out,” Cheum says.

'We're still in shock. You never think it will happen to your community.”

Meanwhile, Dion Jager, who owns Old Mate's Pizza and Pasta next door, says 'we got lucky, really lucky”.

'All we've got is the verandah and the edge of the sign that it licked up, but inside nothing is damaged.”

'My mate sent me a message saying, what did you burn, and then sent me a photo of the fire.”

Immediately he got into the car and 'flew down the Hikauis” thinking his business might be gutted.

'It was the worst drive I've had in a while, I was driving thinking, what am I going to find when I get there? Was it my shop that started it? Am I liable? Did I leave the deep fryer on?

'But we're lucky. Luckier than those buggers anyway.”

-Stuff/Sharnae Hope.