Storage unit owners lost everything in Wellington arson

Smoke billowing from the Kiwi Storage facility as firefighters struggle to control the blaze. Photo / Mark Mitchell

The owners of 200 storage units lost everything when a Wellington facility became the target of an arson, a court was told today.

A man with interim name suppression has denied being responsible for the fire at a judge-alone trial that started in the High Court at Wellington today.

The Kiwi Self Storage building in Rongotai went up in flames in early April, destroying and damaging items stored by hundreds of people.

Justice Simon France denied the defendant's application to continue name suppression, which was due to lapse today, but he granted interim name suppression until tomorrow evening to give time to appeal that ruling.

In her opening, Crown prosecutor Sally Carter told Justice France the facility was made up of five units.

The alleged arson destroyed the entire of B Block's level two, which housed 200 units.

"Practically everything was destroyed."

Hundreds of customers lost property worth millions of dollars, she said.

About 40 witnesses were due to be called during the two-week trial, including fire investigation specialists who would give evidence about how the fire started, she said.

"They will tell you the fire was deliberately lit by the use of flammable material."

A cap with the defendant's DNA inside it was found at the scene, Ms Carter said.

A friend of the defendant's would also give evidence that he bought a fuel tank for him - the remains of which were found in the ashes of the fire, she said.

One of the resident managers who was living at the facility at the time, Kaye Brotherton, said her daughter woke her about 12.30am to tell her about the blaze.

She called the fire service and checked a computer system that logged who has come onto the property when they entered in their security pins at the facility's entry gate.

There were three unit owners who had keyed in their codes, she told Justice France.

Her partner and co-manager, Phil Ryan, went outside towards the block that was on fire and saw about four people near the scene.

He "encouraged" them to leave the property, he said.

"I didn't know who they were, I just wanted lives away from the danger."

Mr Ryan also told the court not as many security cameras were working on the site as should have been.

The trial is continuing.