Wellington’s Loafers Lodge fire still taking toll three years later

Source: Radio New Zealand

On the third anniversary of the fatal Loafers Lodge fire, the senior station officer who lead the response says crews were confronted with an “absolute nightmare of a scene”, which escalated rapidly.

Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O’Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings died, when the the blaze, which was deliberately lit, swept through the multi-storey budget accommodation building with nearly 100 people inside.

Operating out of Newtown fire station on 16 May, 2023, senior station officer Clark Townsley was charged with making the first decisions on how to fight the fire.

He said residents and people were beginning to gather on the street, as fire crews arrived, and thick black smoke was already pouring from the upper windows of the building.

A nightmare scene

“It’s amazing how quick you kick into gear,” Townsley said. “You go from being at the station and, within about three minutes, you’re at an absolute nightmare of a scene.

“The gravity of it was almost instantaneous. This is a highly densely tenanted building and the smoke was just so thick.

“It was quite terrifying.”

Inside the building, Townsley had only moments to assess the extent of the blaze and to determine the safety of the structure.

“I’d never ask anybody to do anything I wouldn’t,” he said. “Sending some of your friends into a potentially catastrophic incident, it’s not something you take lightly.

“It was either ‘we do something or people will die’, and ‘if we do do something, people might die’. We’ve got training, we’ve got equipment, those people inside they’ve got nothing, so we had to give it a go.”

Crews got to work fighting the fire, while Townsley began to organise teams to search for trapped residents.

“While I was doing that, I’m getting – over the radio – that there’s people inside still and then, as I’m trying to deal with that, there’s people on the roof,” he said. “As I was delegating the aerial [appliance] to get those off, then the ambulance officer comes and tells me that there’s people jumping out of the window.

“This all happened well inside the first 10 minutes.”

Fire crews withdraw as conditions become unsurvivable

Conditions inside the building deteriorated rapidly and firefighters were forced to withdraw from the building.

“Once the crews started saying that the roof was coming in on them and that they were starting to see conditions for flash over [the simultaneous ignition of any combustible materials in an enclosed area] – which is almost unsurvivable conditions for people inside – we were lucky to get our guys out.

“Subsequently, talking to one or two [firefighters], they said they thought they were going to die inside. We pushed all of the limits and tactics to their absolute limit.

“Everybody gave 100 percent to everything they did in there. We tried everything we could, but the conditions were horrific.”

Lasting impact of Loafers Lodge fire

Townsley said, when he came away from the fire, 15 people were still unaccounted for. The feeling of that moment has stayed with him to this day.

“That’s a lot,” he said. “Five is a lot.

“One is too many, but you have to remind yourself that building had the capacity for 105 people.

“You have to be positive. We did everything we could to help those people in there.

“Obviously, it doesn’t sit well with me. We play to win, we don’t go in there to lose lives.”

Townsley testified in court proceedings where Esarona Lologa was convicted of the murder of five victims of the fire.

Townsley, who Wellington branch president of the New Zealand Professional Fire-fighters’ Union, refused a citation for his work on the fatal blaze, calling it “premature and inappropriate”.

He said he’d had the opportunity to talk to some of the survivors of the fire, and the experience had given him an insight into the community and relationships among the building’s residents.

He spoken to one former resident, who had taken nearly a year to find a new place to live, as he struggled to feel safe in the standard of accommodation offered by social services.

“All of these things start making you think a little bit more about what we do and how we do it, with other agencies, and things like health and mental health,” Townsley said. “They’re all very much interlinked and now I see how important these safety nets in our communities really are.”

He said the fire had also taken a toll on the crews who fought the blaze.

“It’s not done without leaving a little bit of scar tissue. It always leaves you with a bit of something.”

Fire and Emergency said its thoughts were with those who lost loved ones during the Loafers Lodge fatal fire, those who survived this tragic event and those impacted by it.

“This includes our own people, who faced severe fire conditions, yet performed multiple rescues that evening, as well as our 111 calltakers.

“By the very nature of what we do, our people can be exposed to traumatic events. When this happens, Fire and Emergency New Zealand has processes in place to ensure we offer them comprehensive support.

“This includes wellbeing advisors and psychologists, our employee assistance programme and peer support network, all of which are available to all our personnel, career and volunteer.

“Our people’s safety, health and wellbeing are paramount. We are continuing and will continue to provide support to those involved in the Loafers Lodge response.”

Loafers site to be redeveloped

In late 2025, Wellington developer Primeproperty Group agreed to purchase the property.

The group said it had bought the ground floor of the building, but the remainder of the property would remain under the ownership of the existing owner until April 2027.

It said it was in the early stages of working out what to do with the site, including potential redevelopment for modern apartments, a medical centre or a mixed-use combination of both.

“At this stage, our focus is on understanding the site fully, and ensuring any future considerations are approached thoughtfully, responsibly and with appropriate respect for those affected.”

The group said it recognised the deep significance the site held for many people, and that it was approaching its involvement with care, humility and sensitivity.

“While the events that occurred can never be forgotten, we hope any future decisions regarding the site can balance remembrance and dignity with the opportunity for the building to eventually become a safe, positive and caring place again for future occupants and the wider community.”

Wellington City missioner hoping for closure

Wellington City missioner Murray Edridge said he was delighted Primeproperty had plans to redevelop the site.

“In its current form, it just reminds people every day of the trauma of what happened three years ago.”

Also retraumatising for residents in the last 12 months, he said, had been the murder trial for Esarona Lologa.

“They got to live it all again and that was a terribly difficult process for them.”

Edridge said he believed Lologa’s conviction did not give many residents the closure they hoped for.

A second trial is scheduled for later this year for four people involved with the management and operation of the building.

Each face 10 charges of manslaughter, with two charges relating to each of the five victims.

“I am hopeful that the trial this year of those who were responsible for the building will, in fact, bring that closure,” said Edridge, who still works closely with several of the former Loafers Lodge residents.

“Regardless of the outcome of that trial, it sends a message to building owners, to operators throughout this country that, actually, you need to take responsibility for the people you look after and care for, and make sure they’re OK. I think that’s a really healthy and helpful message to be giving.”

Councillor says families need conclusion

Wellington City Councillor Nureddin Abdurahman said families who had lost their loved ones needed a conclusion.

Families still had unanswered questions about what exactly happened that day and a lot of pain.

He also hoped the end of the court case this year would help bring the chapter to a close for some.

Reviews that followed the fire

A Wellington City Council audit released in June 2023 found 25 similar buildings to Loafers Lodge in the capital. Twenty-one had a current building warrant of fitness, one never had one and three did, but they were not current.

Following the fire, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) launched a probe into 37 buildings like Loafers Lodge – buildings that were at least three storeys tall, a boardinghouse and had no sprinklers. It found more than 100 problems, including smoke detectors not working and unmonitored alarm systems.

Tenancy compliance and investigations team national manager Brett Wilson said boardinghouse compliance remained a priority for MBIE.

“The team works with boardinghouse operators to ensure they are meeting their safety obligations, including a recent operation in Auckland, where 15 properties were visited,” he said. “MBIE has also been focused on providing education and information to tenants on the different types of tenancies, and associated rights and responsibilities.”

Building system, delivery and assurance head Simon Thomas said it also worked closely with local governments in relation to building warrants of fitness and compliance schedules, and had provided guidance on how to improve compliance.

Last year, central government also confirmed it would amend the building code to better protect New Zealanders, following strong calls for change, as part of the nationwide fire safety review.

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– Published by EveningReport.nz and AsiaPacificReport.nz, see: MIL OSI in partnership with Radio New Zealand