Latest news with #LoafersLodge
RNZ News
10-08-2025
- General
- RNZ News
Fire-safety rules review hears concerns on clarity, inconsistency
Five of 92 Loafers Lodge residents died in a fire at the boarding house in May 2023, prompting a review of building fire safety rules. Photo: Local Democracy Reporting / George Heard Warehouses using robots and shuttles present firefighting challenges that need examination - this is one of 10 brand new issues raised in a welter of submissions on changing fire-safety regulations. The review of rules around high-density accommodation sprang from the fatal Loafers' Lodge fire two years ago. The official summary out on Friday said warehouses with automatic storage and retrieval systems (ASRS) have not come up before. Some are 38 metres high and chock full of racks. They "have limited access for people" and "can be challenging to extinguish the fire and for firefighters to access the buildings". "Further consideration is required for the fire protection and access needs for these types of facilities," one fire engineer told the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment. The engineer declined to comment to RNZ. Among the total of 112 submitters - the largest number on any fire rules change - the highest priority was making the fire regulations clearer, and cutting out gaps and inconsistencies - 92 percent agreed on that. The biggest concern was "inconsistent treatment of risk, in particular with regard to sleeping occupancies", a submitter said. Five people died in Loafers Lodge and 70 similar buildings were identified . Inspections found many had at least one fire-safety issue. Some submitters argued people in some type of buildings could be at greater risk in a fire, such as old or disabled people. "Requirements are not always set at the right fire risk level for different types of buildings" was noted as another high priority among submitters. "Occupant load densities for early childhood centres also require further consideration," said one. The Building Code was not up to it on that front and not performing well, 37 submitters said, although councils generally thought it was doing OK. "The operation of specific buildings, such as early childcare centres, hospitals, courthouses and police stations, are not addressed well in the Building Code and this results in unnecessary costs, when trying to demonstrate compliance." Those costs could inhibit compliance. "Some raised concerns that consideration of the financial implications would result in lowering life safety to an unacceptable level," the MBIE summary said. Submitters were most vocal about lack of clarity for both new construction and renovations. This was "alongside the disconnects" to other legislation and regulation such as the Resource Management Act, Fire and Emergency New Zealand Act, and Health and Safety Act. MBIE will feed the submissions into its proposals for Cabinet to consider changing the Building Code early next year. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
27-06-2025
- RNZ News
Loafers Lodge fire: First manslaughter accused named as Marie Louise Murphy
A fire at the Wellington Loafers Lodge accommodation on 16 May 2023 killed five of the building's 92 residents. Photo: RNZ / Samuel Rillstone A woman involved with the management and operations at Loafers Lodge where a fire killed five people, and one of four people charged with manslaughter, can now be named. Marie Louise Murphy, 70, appeared at the High Court in Wellington on Friday morning. She pleaded not guilty to all charges through her counsel and did not seek continued name suppression. A second defendant, 75, who still has name suppression, appeared alongside her and also pleaded not guilty to all charges. Police have charged four people in total, who they allege were responsible for aspects of the building's fire safety systems. Flames seen in the top storey of the Loafers Lodge accommodation in Adelaide Road, Wellington on 16 May 2023 . Photo: Supplied / Axel Dann Each faces 10 charges of manslaughter, with two charges relating to each of the five victims. Gregory Bruce Mein, 73, and another defendant, 58, who is also subject to name suppression, have previously pleaded not guilty to the charges. All four defendants are remanded on bail. A trial is currently expected to go ahead in late 2026. Separately, a man, 50, who has name suppression, was charged with murder and arson. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to stand trial in August. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero , a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
08-06-2025
- RNZ News
Fourth person charged with manslaughter over fatal Loafers Lodge fire
Photo: RNZ /Angus Dreaver A fourth person has been charged with manslaughter over the fire at Loafers Lodge that killed five of the building's residents. The charges follow a two-year investigation by police. Michael Wahrlich, Melvin Parun, Peter O'Sullivan, Kenneth Barnard and Liam Hockings died in the overnight blaze. A man is set to appear in the Wellington District Court on Monday. Last week three people appeared in court charged with manslaughter. They are two men aged 75 and 58, and a 70-year-old woman. Meanwhile, a 50-year-old man, who has name suppression, is charged with murder and arson. He pleaded not guilty to the charges and is due to stand trial in August.
RNZ News
05-06-2025
- Health
- RNZ News
Loafers Lodge: Survivors' advocate hopes manslaughter charges bring closure
Fire broke out at the Loafers Lodge building in the early hours of 16 May, 2023, with almost 100 residents inside. Five were killed. Charges have now been laid in connection to the case. Photo: RNZ /Angus Dreaver Wellington's city missioner says three new charges of manslaughter over the fire at Loafers Lodge are a step closer to closure for families and former residents. The blaze just over two years ago killed five of the building's 92 residents. The police said the newly accused - two men, aged 75 and 58, and a 70-year-old woman - each face five charges of manslaughter, and were involved with the management and operation of the building, responsible for aspects of its fire safety. The defendants entered no plea when they appeared in court on Thursday afternoon, and Judge Peter Hobbs remanded the trio on bail to appear in the court later in the month. He included orders for the trio not to have contact with each other, or a fourth individual yet to appear, and granted interim name suppression. Flames seen in the top storey of the Loafers Lodge building in Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington. Photo: Supplied / Axel Dann Police said they expect to lay charges against another man in coming days. Murray Edridge from the Wellington City Mission told RNZ he remained in contact with a number of former residents of the lodge, and said people were still suffering from the trauma. "It's clear that there's still significant trauma associated with the fire. It feels like it's an unconcluded process and people are still in pain." He hoped the court process now underway would help people find closure. "So many questions have remained unanswered," he said. "It may be that the accountability that appears to be coming from the newly laid charges will help people get to some point of conclusion with their own trauma." Separately, a 50-year-old man, who has name suppression, has previously been charged with murder and arson, and is due to stand trial in August. Meanwhile, the gutted three-storey building stands virtually unchanged on Adelaide Road and its future remains unclear. Edridge said it was a constant reminder of the pain former residents went through. Loafers Lodge on the night of the blaze. Photo: RNZ / Denise Garland Association of Building Compliance chief executive Trent Fearnley told RNZ these types of charges were the first he had heard of. "Generally speaking, there has been some issues of non-compliance where we have had dangerous buildings that have been acknowledged by the council and Fire Emergency New Zealand, but that's also a rare case." Fearnley said events like the Loafers Lodge fire put a spotlight on building compliance. "We are always constantly improving and this was just a reminder that we need to continue to constantly improve." He said the charges were a reminder of what can happen if people did not do their job responsibly. University of Auckland law professor Julia Tolmie said under the Crimes Act, those who were in control of something that might endanger life had to use reasonable care to avoid danger. Tolmie said if that was breached and it resulted in death that would be culpable homicide or effectively manslaughter. She believed operators of accommodation services would be taking note of the latest charges. Fire and Emergency use a skylift to assess damage to Loafers Lodge following the fatal fire. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver Mayor Tory Whanau told RNZ she was pleased police had undertaken "such a thorough investigation leading to the laying of these charges". "We will await the outcome of the trial," she said. "My heart goes out to the whānau and friends of those who perished in the Loafers Lodge fire, who continue to grieve." The fire triggered a series of inquiries into fire protections . A Wellington City Council audit released in June 2023 found 25 similar buildings in the capital. Twenty-one had a current building warrant of fitness, one never had one and three did, but they were not current. The Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) launched a probe into 37 similar buildings - that is, boarding houses at least three storeys tall, with no sprinklers - and found more than 100 problems, including smoke detectors not working and unmonitored alarm systems. It also found the boarding houses were on average 60 years old. Most were not built originally to be accommodation and 69 percent had issues with safety systems. At the time of the two-year anniversary, the Minister for Building and Construction Chris Penk told RNZ he expected the final report and recommendations to be delivered within weeks, and that it would be made public shortly after. Sign up for Ngā Pitopito Kōrero, a daily newsletter curated by our editors and delivered straight to your inbox every weekday.
RNZ News
05-06-2025
- RNZ News
Midday Report Essentials for Thursday 5 June 2025
conservation crime 37 minutes ago In today's episode, the Prime Minister has expressed what he says is his absolute shock over revelations about one of his senior press secretaries, the worst of the wild weather which has been lashing the country appears to be over - for now, three people have been charged with manslaughter over the 2023 Loafers Lodge fire in Wellington, and it's that time of year again-when young kekeno or fur seals start turning up in all sorts of odd places, from footpaths and paddocks to busy roads.
