Police with riot shields have stormed a Palmerston North student street as hundreds of partying students spilled on to the street amid burning couches.  

Officers swarmed Ada St about 11.30 on Thursday night, finding two couches on fire and more than 400 drunken students crowded in the middle of the road.

At least three people were arrested for drunkenness and disorderly behaviour, but no charges were laid. The person who ignited the couches was unable to be identified.

Inspector Ross Grantham understood that students have parties for fun, but they should also be responsible and respect their neighbours.

"Police are disappointed to report that several arrests were made for intoxication and disorderly behaviour.

"Fire services also attended to reports of couches set on fire. The Manawatū is currently suffering a long dry spell, our grass and vegetation is dry and the act of setting things on fire deliberately is absolutely irresponsible."

Early in the night Janika Hey, 19, and her friends were throwing an initiation party at her flat on the street, christened "the rink".

The first beer at their "barn yard bash" was sunk at 9pm – half an hour later they'd already received a noise control complaint. 

Hey said the party was under control until hundreds of first-year students arrived without an invite. "There was just a lot of them. We asked a lot of them to leave and some of them started fights."

Many first-year students went to Ada Street and gatecrash parties because they had heard of its reputation, Hey said.

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"Everyone went out on the road because we kicked everyone out and there was a little couch burning on the road and then they burned another couch. Apparently there hasn't been a double couch burning in a very long time."

Thrid-year Student Fletcher Linstrom, 20, had been drinking at one of the parties down the street when the blaze began.

"All of a sudden it got out of hand and the fire got bigger and bigger and bigger.

"We saw a police car and they didn't do anything, but they must have called for backup and that's when a riot squad turned up."

Firefighters and police arrived in their masses to control the students, who had set two couches on fire about 11.30pm.

At that stage more than 400 students were estimated to be partying on the road drinking, tipping over cars, smashing bottles and throwing things at the approaching officers.

Fletcher watched as police charged down the street.

"They were very aggressive. I've never seen anything like that in my life. I was very surprised. It was crazy.

"I actually think in that case, a fire that big with so many students ,I don't anyone got hurt so I think it was a successful job done. I think everything went pretty smoothly on their part.

"I don't know what it is," Fletcher said, "[some students are] trying to copy the culture down south were they burn the couches."