Packed and ready to leave.
That's how some Southland residents spent much of yesterday after fire hit an old paper mill building in Mataura, now used to store toxic aluminium waste.
Fire services managed to extinguish the blaze which was burning just 30 metres from more than 8000 tonnes of ouvea premix - a highly volatile by-product of the smelting process at Tiwai Point.
The storage of the waste has been a sore topic for locals, who have been pleading with the government and smelter owner Rio Tinto to have it removed.
Earlier this year, the building was threatened by rising river water which could have led to ammonia gas being released.
Mataura resident Karen Turipa tells RNZ's Conan Young this time around she was ready to flee her home.
