The owner of Loafers Lodge in Wellington, where at least six people have died in a fire, says he’s in the dark about what might have caused the deadly blaze.
Gregory Mein told the Herald his energy was focused on working with management, the bereaved and relocating displaced tenants.
“The police and fire service have control of the building, so I’m in the dark as much as you are as to what they may find or causes etc. So until I’m in a position to be able to speak, I won’t be making any statement.
“We’re all battling at the moment,” he added.
Police are treating the fire as unexplained.
Wellington City Council (WCC) said about eight Loafers Lodge residents remained at the emergency centre set up at Newtown Park as of 4pm.
“Around 50 residents arrived at Newtown Park early this morning and most have been found temporary accommodation in motels, hotels and hostels by council welfare staff and other agencies, or have been accommodated with friends and whānau,” council spokesman Richard MacLean said.
The council has also confirmed the Loafers Lodge was issued with a Building Warrant of Fitness in March this year.
No concerns were raised by the independent qualified person who inspected and tested the life safety systems in the 1970s building, the council said. The building has previously been used as a bank.
WCC has contacted the building owner to offer assistance and is working with various authorities on their investigations.
Building and Construction Minister Megan Woods understood there was a stand-alone alarm system and all requirements with the Building Act were being met.
She said it was too early to say if regulations needed to change.
”I think at the moment, we’re all focused on the fact that there has been a tragedy here. The first question was to ask whether or not the building met its requirements but as with any tragedy sometimes there’s further questions that flow out of it.”
Prime Minister Chris Hipkins said the building code did not require the retrofitting of sprinklers.
There were likely a number of similar buildings across the country, he said.
Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) building performance and engineering manager Dave Gittings said the ministry was supporting emergency services as the situation developed and an investigation into the fire got under way.
The Building Code’s fire safety requirements focused on the safety of people in buildings, preventing fire from spreading to neighbouring properties and protecting firefighters, Gittings said.
“In New Zealand there are typically many fire safety systems that work together to help keep people safe in a fire, eg smoke detectors, building-wide alarms, smoke extraction, passive fire separations, stairwells and exits from the building.
“Existing buildings are not required to be retroactively upgraded to comply with the latest requirements in the Building Code unless there are other alterations done to the building, or if the local Territorial Authority approves an application for its change of use.”
All alterations must comply with the Building Code at the time they are completed, Gittings said.
New Zealand’s standards for fire alarm and safety systems are required to be routinely inspected as part of a Building Warrant of Fitness, he said.