Fire at former Seaview Hospital in Hokitika treated as suspicious
RNZ / Nate McKinnon
A fire at the former Seaview Hospital in Hokitika is being treated as suspicious.
Fire and Emergency were first called to the scene just before 7am Sunday, responding with seven firetrucks from Hokitika, Cobden, Greymouth, Ross, Kokatahi and Kowhitirangi and Moana.
Shift manager Ryan Dawson told RNZ the fire had been contained by about 4pm.
Firefighters worked their way through the building, picking up objects like roofing iron with machinery to ensure no areas of flame remained underneath.
Police confirmed they were inquiring into how the fire started.
The precinct was formerly a jail, then a psychiatric hospital.
Media reports showed an earlier fire in 2017 caused damage to some of the buildings. It ran as a backpackers and campsite - Seaview Lodge and Backpackers - for several years, but closed sometime between February and July 2024.
The earliest review on
TripAdvisor
was left in December 2013 and, according to later reviews, it remained open until February, with one guest calling it "an amazing place", and "a real curiosity to look around and find ward beds set up".
The final review, in July, noted: "The place has once again been abandoned and a member of the cleaning staff advised that it's all closed again, including the hostel."
"The graveyard is still eerie," it said.
RNZ understands the building which caught on fire was not one used as part of the backpackers.
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