Plea for footage after fire destroys vacant scout hall in Dunedin

Thursday, 15 January 2026

The blaze broke out on Wednesday afternoon at the Roslyn Scout Group Hall on School St in the suburb of Kaikorai.

The future of a vacant scout hall was part of discussions about its future, when the building was destroyed in a blaze.

The School St fire, in the Dunedin suburb of Kaikorai, was spotted by a passing Fire and Emergency NZ (Fenz) crew on Wednesday, about 3.40pm.

Fire engulfed the two-storey wooden building, leading to dozens of fire fighters, appliances and an aerial appliance tackling the blaze, while residents were sent an alert urging them to stay inside.

Crews on site battling a fire at a Dunedin scout hall.

Investigators were examining the charred remains of the structure on Thursday morning, with a digger also on site.

Fenz fire investigator Matt Jones said he was called to the scene on Wednesday, and described it as a “complex fire in a two-storey wooden structure with a basement underneath”.

The fire was complex to put out with the building undergoing a structural collapse, and required an aerial appliance to fight the fire.

Crews were able to contain the blaze to the building and not any neighbouring structures.

A fire fighter on a ladder tackles the blaze

“They did an extremely good job.”

A digger pulled down some of the structure due to safety reasons, and to access some of the “deep seated fire”.

Jones said the investigation was ongoing, and to help with that Fenz was calling for any photos or footage taken between 3pm-4pm, the early stages of the fire.

A fire broke out in a Scout Hall on Wednesday afternoon.

That included dashcam or security footage from School St over the same period.

Anyone with photos or footage from that period was urged to email Roslynfirephotos2026@fireandemergency.nz.

Scouts Aotearoa chief executive Chris Wilson confirmed the building sits on leased council land.

The Roslyn Scout Hall was difficult to access.

Discussions between Scouts Aotearoa and the Dunedin City Council as to the future of the property had been under way, he said.

The Roslyn Scout Group closed in late 2024 with members moving to larger Scout groups.

“The property has suffered a number of break ins over the past year despite the hard work of local Scout volunteers to keep the building secure and presentable,” Wilson said.

Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said detectives were at the scene with a fire investigator on Thursday morning to determine the cause of the fire.

Police were appealing for any witnesses at the time of the fire, including anyone spotted acting suspiciously before or after the blaze.

Those with information were urged to contact police on 105.