Asbestos has been found at Invercargill's main fire station.

Fire-fighters who would normally stay at the station overnight have moved out into a hotel but the truck bay is still in use.

In the run-up to window renovations, asbestos dust was found on the exterior wall and in the ceiling space.

Fire and Emergency on Tuesday took swab samples from all bedrooms and expected the results back in the next couple of days.

This was "to ensure that no asbestos dust has entered our bedrooms, although we believe this is highly unlikely, to help reassure any concerns," it said on Wednesday.

Overnight crews would meantime stay at a hotel nearby.

FENZ said it was working with union leaders on what was a "fast-moving" situation.

The Professional Firefighters' Union said FENZ reacted quickly to the discovery.

It is the second station to be partly shut down by asbestos discoveries.

Auckland's main station, the country's busiest, has had its fire-fighters out for a month as testing and clean up work is carried out.

WorkSafe has been at the Invercargill fire station.

It had an asbestos survey completed, which identified asbestos-containing material, and had an asbestos management plan in place, FENZ said.

Asbestos in solid form is usually no threat unless it is disturbed or broken up.

Reproduced with permission