Firefighters are tackling a fire at a research institute in Lower Hutt where the alarm was raised shortly before 3pm.
The Ferrier Research Institute is part of Victoria University and is in the Callaghan Innovation precinct.
Ferrier Research Institute director, Professor Richard Furneaux, says the building was being re-roofed when the fire broke out.
Firefighters could be seen removing pressurised cylinders and cutting tools from the roof.
He says he's not entirely sure what started the fire, but everyone has evacuated safely.
People were working in the lab but "[It] certainly was not a chemical fire," Professor Furneaux said.
He did not know the extent of the damage.
A 1 NEWS reporter at the scene said he could hear a lot of glass breaking as the fire burned.
Firefighters have been tackling the fire from the roof of a neighbouring building.
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