A Maitland business has gone up in flames early this morning, but firefighters have managed to contain the damage to one building.
A Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson told the Newcastle Herald it was "way too early" to know the cause of the blaze that broke out at Mitchell Integrated Therapy on High Street, near Spark Street, just before 4.30am on February 1.
Three fire trucks were initially sent to the scene after a woman driving by saw smoke coming from the premises - another six additional support vehicles were soon dispatched after first responders saw what they were facing, with about 30 firefighters attending in total.
Firefighters were forced to cut their way into the property to contain and extinguish the fire which took approximately two hours.
The Fire and Rescue NSW spokesperson described the blaze as "quite a sizeable incident", but said his colleagues did a successful job of making sure the fire did not spread.
The building and its contents, including four cars, have suffered significant damage.
"We think it originated from somewhere around the car park area or the laundry and the fire may have been burning for sometime before the call came in," NSW Fire and Rescue duty commander for Lower Hunter inspector Jim Murphie said.
Inspector Murphie said there is yet to be a determined cause for the blaze, however FRNSW expert investigators will sift through the debris, using an Ignitable Liquid Detection dog, to determine what sparked the fire.
"At this stage the cause of the blaze is nothing suspicious and there was no sign of forced entry when we arrived," he said.
The crews on scene were able to successfully save the neighbouring building Jaycar which inspector Jim Murphie said the blaze was starting to head towards.
"Unfortunately most of the interior of Mitchell Integrated Therapy will have to be rebuilt," he said.
"No one has been injured, no persons were inside the premises and no fire fighters have been injured."
Police closed a section of High Street, between the New England Highway and Abbott Street, while the firefighting effort took place.
