A Whangaparāoa man watched the famous golden arches at a local McDonald's burst into flames late last night.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand were called to the scene on Whangaparāoa Rd, north of Auckland, at about 11.30pm on Sunday.

Firefighters had to wait for electricity to be turned off before they could extinguish the blaze.

Resident Andrew Hill said the McDonald's sign was flickering moments before it went up in smoke.

"Within a matter of minutes, it engulfed into flames ... the smoke was just incredibly thick and very, very toxic," Hill said.

He was standing about 15 metres from the sign, but could feel the heat and smell of burning plastic, he said.

The McDonald's sign on fire in Whangaparāoa last night. Photo: Supplied / Andrew Hill

"I was quite amazed to see a sign that could just engulf within a matter of minutes," Hill said.

He checked to see if anyone was left in the building, before calling emergency services.

Hill wanted to thank the volunteer fire brigade, which arrived on the scene in about 10 minutes, for being so prompt in getting the fire under control.

"It's a shout out to our volunteers ... many of them have other jobs to do, families to look after, but when it comes to an emergency they're there," he said.

It was disappointing that the sign, which he said had been flickering since June, was not fixed sooner, he said.

"It's a bit of a concern from maintenance," he said.

In a statement to RNZ, McDonald's said it was investigating the cause of the fire.

The company said the restaurant was closed at the time and staff were finishing up and cleaning when the incident occurred.