Clean-up from Morgan Street fire begins, neighbours assess smoke damage

At about 9pm on Wednesday, NSW Fire and Rescue (FRNSW) crews responded to numerous calls reporting smoke at Wagga Dry Cleaners on Morgan Street.

Nobody was in the shop at the time, and all neighbouring residents evacuated the building safely before calling triple zero.

"I saw that smoke was coming from my aircon, so we all came downstairs," resident neighbour Manoj Raj said.

The fire brigades arrived on site and were faced with heavy smoke, heat and visible flames which began coming through the roof.

"It took a lot to get the fire under control, but due to our good work and the building construction that fire was contained to the compartment of origin," FRNSW Wagga zone commander Daryl Manson said.

"Good work by the crews, we brought four or five trucks, lots of assistance from the RFS."

"Much to their dismay they were probably watching the football at the time, but this takes paramount to everything."

While the entire contents of the store were destroyed, neighbouring businesses and residences did not suffer any fire damage.

O'Brien's Hot Bake remained closed for cleaning on Thursday June 6, but owner Adel Sedrak said the business will definitely be trading again after the long weekend.

"It could be earlier, but 100 per cent on Tuesday," he said.

New Oceanic Take Away also shares a wall with the dry cleaners, but was unaffected by the fire and open for trade the next day.

Worker Rebecca Costello and her son Kayden had stayed back unusually late at New Oceanic Take Away because they were searching for her car keys.

Along with residents in the apartment above, they noticed smoke coming from the back of the dry cleaners in the car park behind the building.

Ms Costello called emergency services and told residents to evacuate the building.

"It was hard trying to stay calm, and tell everyone to get out at the same time," Ms Costello said.

She said she called the other business owners along the strip of shops.

These included Saigon Restaurant, O'Brien's Hot Bake Bakery and Noodle King.

Inspector Manson said that all businesses had been evacuated when crews arrived

"It took a good hour and a half to bring the fire under control, at which point we could ventilate and give more visibility," inspector Manson said.

"It's a timely reminder for all commercial and industry businesses to get all your basics right in regards to your fire safety."

Ronnie Alexander was eating dinner at a restaurant nearby and heard a commotion which she believed to be from footy fans.

"All of a sudden we hear three loud bangs thinking it's fire crackers because of the State of Origin going on at the moment," she said.

"We walked over and saw smoke coming out of the building and that's what got our attention.

"You could see it from the roof, not exactly flames, but you could see the brightness and glow from the roof of the building."

An investigation has been set up by the police and FRNSW to determine the cause of the blaze which is not being treated as suspicious.