Man due in court this morning, charged with arson after deadly Loafers Lodge fire

Thursday, 18 May 2023

One man has been charged with two counts of arson following the fire at Loafers Lodge in Newtown, Wellingotn on Monday night.

A man will appear in Wellington District Court this morning, charged with two counts of arson following the fatal fire at Loafers Lodge that killed at least six people.

The investigation into the fire is ongoing and police have not ruled out further, more serious charges in relation to the deaths at the scene, a police spokesperson said.

Stuff understands the man who’s been arrested is aged in his 40s, has been a resident of Loafers Lodge and has lived in both Wellington and Auckland.

Acting Wellington District Commander Inspector Dion Bennett said police were not seeking anyone else in relation to the fire.

* Firefighters' ageing equipment didn't compromise hostel fire response: Fenz

Acting Wellington district commander Inspector Dion Bennett provides an update on the deadly fire at Loafers Lodge.

* Loafers Lodge housed some of Wellington’s 'most vulnerable'

Two bodies are expected to be removed for the Newtown hostel on Friday, following the removal on Thursday of the first two bodies from the scene.

Fire and Emergency’s chief executive defends operations at Loafers Lodge fire

The death toll remains at six. Fewer than 20 people are still counted as missing. Ninety-two people have been accounted for, with one person in hospital.

The first victims were recovered from the building about 5pm on Thursday after staff at the site performed a karakia.Emergency services were moving in and out of the hostel all day on Thursday. Temporary metal fences, covered with black cloth and obscuring the driveway, were erected. .

Bennett said on Thursday the damage on the third floor of the Newtown hostel was significant.

“The debris is piled high. And there is much for them to move and search underneath.”

Disaster Victim Identification teams, police and fire investigators, engineers from Urban Search and Rescue and Fire and Emergency are all involved in searching through the four-storey building.

Flowers left at the scene at fatal fire at Loafers Lodge in Newtown, Wellington.

The scene examination was expected to take several days and would likely go into the weekend.

Earlier on Thursday, Fire and Emergency (Fenz) had to defend their response to the blaze, admitting the organisation had old equipment that need to be replaced.

“All the vehicles that were there were fit for purpose … but I’m not denying that we’ve inherited huge legacy issues that we will have to address over time,” Fenz chief executive Kerry Gregory said at a media conference.

More than a quarter of the fire trucks in the fleet were 20 to 25 years old, he said.

An operational review would look at Fire and Emergency’s response to the fire, but said firefighters and call-takers and others involved did their utmost to save as many people as possible. .

The fire broke out in the early hours of Tuesday morning.

Up to 90 firefighters battled the blaze with their actions – including rescuing people from the roof of the four-storey building and risking their own lives – being described as heroic by Fire and Emergency bosses.

“It’s really raw for firefighters. Most firefighters in their whole career don’t go to a fire fatality, let alone one of the worst we’ve had in Wellington,” Gregory said.

The hostel housed a range of people from hospital workers on the lower floors to a more vulnerable community on the upper floors, residents have said.

The southbound lanes on the arterial route that the hostel is on, Adelaide Road, have been reopened on Friday morning. The northbound lanes remain closed between Drummond St and John St.