The fallout continues from the tragic Loafers Lodge fire in Wellington, local government expert says sack all Gore councillors after Mayor survives and police surround house in Rānui as person barricades themselves inside in the latest New Zealand Herald headlines. Video / NZ Herald
Police expect to enter the charred hostel today where at least six people died to begin searching for those who perished and investigating the fire.
At least six people are dead after a massive fire ripped through a Wellington hostel early yesterday morning, with more still unaccounted for in what is one of New Zealand’s deadliest fires.
Dozens of people were trapped as thick smoke filled Loafers Lodge’s corridors and rooms, many woken by yelling and warnings to evacuate.
The police’s scene examination will be “an extensive and methodical process” and until it’s completed the confirmed death toll won’t be released, Dion Bennett, Acting Wellington District Commander said.
Stubbs said they are looking into various factors of the cause of the fire such as the thought it might have started as a couch fire, as well as looking into the standard of the building’s alarm system.
A convicted arsonist, who was staying at the hostel at the time, told the Heraldhe was yesterday interviewed by police. He denied starting the fire.
Police said the fire was unexplained at this stage.
“Police don’t believe it’s been deliberately lit,” Wellington acting district commander Inspector Dion Bennett, said. “We require a full investigation.”
Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) assistant national commander Bruce Stubbs said the fire was being treated as “suspicious”.
Workers in PPE are picking up debris from the scene at the Loafers Lodge fire in Wellington on Tuesday afternoon. Photo / George Heard
Nine residents at the lodge were serving community-based sentences, Corrections Lower North deputy regional commissioner Brittany McNamara said.
Urban Search and Rescue teams, made up of technicians and drone operators, were at the scene last night assessing the building’s structural integrity and trying to find any other occupants.
One man jumped from the third storey onto a roof next door as he feared he would burn if he stayed. Others sprinted out to see flames burst through the roof.
Firefighters rescued 52 people, including five residents plucked from the roof “directly above the fire”, in an effort praised by senior firefighters and politicians. At its height, more than 80 firefighters battled the blaze.
Staff at the 111 call centre listened as some callers were cut off.
Firefighters arrived at the Adelaide Rd property at 12.15am after reports of a blaze on the roof. They described the scene that confronted them as their “worst nightmare”.
As day broke, survivors described their frantic escape from a building filling rapidly with smoke. An evacuation centre was set up for those who had lost their home.
Flames shooting from the Loafers Lodge in Wellington after a fatal fire early Tuesday morning. Photo / Sunnie Chan
Residents recounted waking to the smell of smoke and hearing people yelling “fire, fire” in the darkness and shouts to evacuate. Some said they ignored any alarms - adding that false alarms were common at the building.
Stubbs said, “At this stage, we have located six [dead] people. We’ve ensured the evidence and scene around them has been made safe.”
Five people were taken to hospital, with one needing treatment in Hutt Hospital’s burns unit. Only one patient remained in hospital last night, in a stable condition.
A police spokesperson said some of those staying at the hostel had been homeless.
While fire crews continued dousing flames, survivors described having earlier desperately crawled to safety and told media several elderly people lived in rooms close to where the fire was understood to have broken out.
Wellingtonians’ morning commutes were badly affected as the major road was closed while the devastation became clear and an immense sense of disbelief and sadness gripped the city.
Fenz deputy national commander Brendan Nally revealed the building didn’t have any sprinklers.
UPDATE: Wellington fire, Loafers Lodge
Nally said the number of people unaccounted for was 11, as politicians arrived to scope the scale of the tragedy. A mayoral relief fund was set up to help the victims, and charities delivered clothing and food to those affected.
Health authorities warned people nearby of an asbestos risk from the fire, while some residents told media the building was a “death trap” and construction experts questioned whether the building had necessary safety features.
Loafers Lodge property manager Murray Murphy told the Herald he was “very sad”.
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said his thoughts were with the firefighters and victims, and called the fire a tragedy.
“For now I want to particularly acknowledge the firefighters who have put themselves in harm’s way over past hours to get people out of the building and put the fire out.
“The focus right now is supporting our firefighters to get the situation stabilised.”
Wellington’s Mayor Tory Whanau said the blaze was a “shock to the system”.
“I’m devastated,” she said.
“I’m feeling a lot of pain and emotion at those who have been lost.
Police and emergency services on the scene of a fatal fire in Adelaide St. A fire at Loafers Lodge hostel has left at least six people dead. Photo / Mark Mitchell
She said “various kinds of people” were staying at the lodge at the time - including “vulnerable” people.
A resident on the third floor of Loafers Lodge, where the blaze was first noticed, said he’d awoken to the first alarm and walked into the corridor but didn’t notice anything unusual.
“But then it was the neighbour [shouting] ‘fire! fire!’ and the whole hallway was filled with smoke.”
Grabbing his hat on the way out, he fell to the ground and began crawling out of his room towards the stairway that would bring him to safety. However, by the time he left his room, smoke had already filled the building.
“It was hard to crawl as [there’s] only that much airspace on the ground. It was straight-up scary.
Another lodge resident, Warren Holdaway, said he sprinted out of the building as soon as he smelled smoke.
“It took me 15-20 seconds to get out of the building from where I was. I was only just down the corridor from a stairwell,” he said.
“Fire and emergency services were still arriving when I came out of the building. There was smoke coming out of the building. The fire brigade got themselves set up and then the flames burst through the roof, the windows.”
The tragedy is one of the country’s deadliest fires. The 1947 Ballantynes shop fire in Christchurch is remembered as the nation’s worst after it claimed the lives of 41 people.
In more recent decades, six people were killed on February 4, 1995, after Alan Wayne Lory set a fire inside the New Empire Hotel in Hamilton. And in 2009, a house fire killed four children in Mangere.
