Loafers lodge survivor Faamatala Sili tells his survival story of that fateful night. Video / Mark Mitchell / Aja Lethaby
Wellington City Council has released a list of 25 buildings similar to Loafers Lodge, which includes the motel where Joanne Ingham was found dead last year.
Ingham - who was one of the twins who captivated public attention in the late 1990s after claiming to have jumped overboard from a Malaysian container ship and swum for 15 hours through crocodile-infested waters - was found dead at Harbour City Motor Inn in June.
Council officials have been urgently working to identify similar buildings providing residential accommodation to Loafers Lodge after the horror blaze that killed five people.
A list of 25 buildings was released this afternoon, now that building owners have had time to inform tenants and residents.
Of these buildings, three did not have current Building Warrants of Fitness (BWoF) and the council has issued owners with Notices to Fix. One has historically not had a BWoF.
The mayor’s office has previously reported that only 10 buildings had fire sprinklers.
The list was compiled based on criteria including buildings that were over two storeys and provided commercial short- or long-term accommodation options, as well as boarding houses, backpackers and some residential motels.
Council chief planning officer Liam Hodgetts stressed these buildings were not on the list because the council had identified a safety risk, and any suggestion of that would be misleading.
The list has been put together so council officials can take a closer look, including on-site audits.
“With 16 of the building audits completed so far, staff have reported no significant problems and have been pleased with the high levels of co-operation from the building owners, their agents, and experts,” Hodgetts said.
“We can also report that one of the three buildings that did not have a current BWoF is now compliant.”
Joanne Ingham was found dead at the Harbour City Motor Inn on Webb St.
Hodgetts said the council was assessing how it could gain a better understanding of the extent and location of this type of residential accommodation across the city.
”We aim to work with agency partners to develop a city-wide approach to gather more information on these buildings.
“This would allow a partnership approach in identifying and resolving issues as well as assisting in prioritising the highest-risk properties for on-site audits and in achieving MBIE’s [Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment] recommended 20-33 per cent of building stock receiving a BWoF audit each year.”
In March 2021, the Harbour City Motor Inn was being used for emergency accommodation when police raided the property, executing a pre-planned search warrant. Police found drugs there.
By the end of April 2021, the Harbour City Motor Inn had ceased supplying emergency accommodation by mutual agreement.
At the same time, Immigration New Zealand (INZ) confirmed it was investigating allegations of migrant sex workers being at the motel.
Georgina Campbell is a Wellington-based reporter who has a particular interest in local government, transport, and seismic issues. She joined the Herald in 2019 after working as a broadcast journalist.
