Firefighters are battling a blaze at a Methven country pub.
A Fire and Emergency spokesman said the blaze was much bigger than expected - and Methven's two crews had to call for backup.
He said the roof of the Brown Pub in Canterbury's Mount Hutt Village was well-involved in fire and four crews were on the scene.
An employee at the Methven i-site across the road said everyone got out okay and it looked like the fire was just in the roof for now.
She said it'd be a huge shame if the pub was damaged because it's a popular place for local farmers to meet.