Three fires across country over weekend
Photo:
RNZ / Richard Tindiller
Two house fires kept fire fighters in Auckland and the Manawatū District busy overnight while - further south - investigators will return to the scene of a suspicious fire in the former Seaview Psychiatric Hospital in Hokitika.
Fire crews worked to extinguish a house fire in a single story home in Feilding which began shortly before 2am.
A FENZ spokesperson said six fire trucks - from Feilding, Bunnythorpe, Milson, Palmerston North - fought the blaze.
One person was treated for possible smoke inhalation by ambulance staff at the scene.
The spokesperson said the blaze was suppressed by 3.40am but, as of 6am, five crews remained at the scene dampening down hotspots and monitoring for flare ups.
The fire is not being treated as suspicious at this stage.
Fire crews in Auckland were called to a home in Bombay at 7.17pm on Sunday.
The single story residence was well alight by the time crews arrived and, at it's peak, six fire appliances supported by two water tankers fought the blaze.
There were no reports of occupants in the building and no injuries were reported.
Fire investigators will return to the scene on Monday morning to determine the cause of the fire.
Meanwhile, on the West Coast of the South Island, fire investigators will return to the scene of a blaze in the former Seaview Psychiatric Hospital in Hokitika.
The fire - which was well involved by the time fire crews arrived shortly after 7.11am on Sunday - is being
treated as suspicious
.
The building had been abandoned after being used as a backpackers and campsite for several years following the closure of the hospital.
There were no reports of injuries in the fire.
Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero
,
a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
102,446 people on radiology wait list
102,446. That's the number of people around the country on the radiology wait list in the queue in the public health system for M-R-I's, X-rays, C-T scans and other diagnostic tests. That's according to a report by the union representing medical imaging technologists and sonographers. APEX says radiology services are unravelling, with 50 % of the patients waiting concentrated in just five districts according to data from March this year. It also says Te Whatu ora Health New Zealand has spent more than a hundred million dollars in the past year outsourcing radiology services to private providers. Meanwhile 45 percent of the health workers who answered the APEX survey say they are working with broken, outdated or unsafe equipment. Omar Hamed is an APEX Advocate based in Auckland. He joined Lisa Owen Tags: To embed this content on your own webpage, cut and paste the following: See terms of use.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
People who inject drugs demand a say in needle exchange services
DISC Trust provided sterile drug injecting equipment at six sites in the South Island. (File photo) Photo: AFP A group of people who inject drugs are demanding a greater say in the future of the South Island's needle exchange services - warning health leaders are gambling with their lives. In seven weeks, needle exchange programme DISC Trust will hand over its long-standing contract , which provided sterile drug injecting equipment at six sites around the South Island. That provider, Te Waipounamu Collective, with He Waka Tapu as the lead agency, was yet to disclose how, where - or with what staff - it planned to operate the service. On Monday, a newly formed group of more than 100 clients, called the Peer Injection Collective (PIC) set out four pages worth of concerns in an open letter to the DISC Trust's board and chairperson. The open letter demanded to know why DISC Trust lost its contract after 35 years, and why many clients only learned about the change through the media. It asked DISC to give clients a seat at the table with Health NZ and the new provider in ongoing negotiations - and requested for the handover to be slowed down for a "patient and open process of relationship building with the community". PIC member Gilbert May said the group was increasingly apprehensive about the change of providers in seven weeks' time. "We're incredibly concerned about what seems like a complete farce in the construction of a new programme, and what is looking like a disaster in its rollout." "We're concerned about the welfare of peers, of people who inject drugs, and we are really worried about the way that the process has been undertaken without any input - as far as we have any knowledge - from peers." May, a former harm reduction worker at DISC and among the thousands who have used its services, said rolling out a comprehensive service by October seemed like a "logistical nightmare and a practical impossibility." He said finding suitable new, suitable sites could take months. May said the group also wanted guarantees the service would remain peer-led, non-judgemental and confidential. "The risks of a failed or botched rollout are not the risks of bureaucrats. They're not the risks of board members. The people who are taking the risks are the peers. And we're risking our lives and our health." He said giving clients a say was part of the sector-wide engagement standards set by Te Tāhū Hauora, and PIC would be raising its concerns to the Health and Disability Commissioner. DISC Trust's executive director Philippa Jones said those concerns were fair, and the board would be providing PIC with a formal response. She said last year DISC urged Health NZ to engage with its clients - but that never happened. Jones said DISC still did not know what the new provider's plan looked like, including where the sites would be, or whether its 19 staff would keep their jobs. However, He Waka Tapu, as the lead agency within the Te Wai Pounamu Collective, said it was working to "maintain continuity of services with minimal disruption" as it took over the programme. "We are engaging with existing providers, including to respect their experience and to ensure knowledge transfer. "We know the importance of building relationships with local communities... our goal is to build on the work done in this space already, and to future-proof the service for all." It said it took the Peer Injection Collective's concerns seriously, and appreciated the group's advocacy. "We are committed to involving people with lived and living experience in the design, delivery, and leadership of services, in alignment with Te Tāhū Hauora's standards. Harm reduction remains central." "Our services will be peer-informed, non-stigmatising, confidential, culturally safe, and accessible." The agency said it understood trust took time to build. "Our goal is not to replace what exists, but to evolve it with care, integrity, and community leadership." RNZ approached Health NZ with PIC's concerns that needle exchange users were not consulted. In a statement, Director Starting Well, Deborah Woodley, said PricewaterhouseCoopers did engage with clients - as part of an independent review of the Needle Exchange Programme in January 2023. "The review recommended a reset and a collaborative change process to progress a range of enhancements to the Needle Exchange Programme." She said people with 'lived experience' were also involved in the evaluation panel responsible for assessing proposals during the procurement process - which eventually awarded the South Island needle exchange contract to Te Waipounamu Collective. Woodley said Health NZ was confident DISC was given "well-researched information and advice at all times during the procurement process." Dr Rose Crossin from Otago University's Department of Population Health has collaborated with DISC on past research. She said it was a hugely successful service which had "averted a lot of harm in the in the drug injecting community", largely because of its peer-led, "very, very anonymous" approach. Crossin said removing a trusted service without the community's backing could have serious health consequences. "If people were not seeking going to the needle exchange and not able to access sterile injecting equipment, there is the potential that bloodborne viruses would increase again in New Zealand and that would include both hepatitis and HIV." She said DISC helped connect clients to other parts of the healthcare system. "If the needle exchange suddenly lost the trust of their clients, there's a risk that they just wouldn't seek help at all for these other health issues." Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
6 hours ago
- RNZ News
Canterbury schools hit hard by winter illnesses
Whānau are being urged to keep sick children at home to stop illness from spreading in the classroom. File photo. Photo: 123RF Winter illnesses are hitting Canterbury schools hard, with staff sidelined and students calling in sick. Rangiora High School has more than 1600 students and 120 staff. Principal Bruce Kearney said they could have 300-400 students away on a day and up to 30 staff were off sick. "It seems to be a merry-go-round with the sickness, just when you're coming right you get sick again and it seems to take a little bit longer," he said. He did not rule out shutting the school if there were not enough staff, and said he had not felt the pressure to do that yet this winter. "We have 120 teachers, I'd say if we're getting over 35 (off sick) then that becomes a reality, simply because we can't get relief teachers. There are not enough relief teachers to cover so many classes," Kearney said. Rangiora High School Principal Bruce Kearney. Photo: SUPPLIED Other schools were also feeling the impact of winter illness, he said. "Most definitely heard that this is probably a little bit worse than normal, but not massively worse. I want to put that into context, things are a little bit worse but a little bit worse can make a big difference." He urged whānau to keep sick children at home to stop illness from spreading. But that could be a challenge when the school had been messaging its community constantly about increasing attendance to meet the government's goal, he said. Associate Education Minister David Seymour has previously said the government aimed to ensure 80 percent of students were present more than 90 percent of the term by 2030. "So we've been talking about coming to school and then of course we hit a winter like this, and attendance just massively falls away and it just shows how difficult the whole thing is," Kearney said. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
