Lodge safety unchecked for five years

Wellington City Council only conducted on-site inspections at Loafers Lodge twice in the past decade, despite advice it would be more appropriate for such checks to happen every year.

The most recent check in 2018 found several problems including items being installed in an escape route that could combust in an emergency or block the fire exit.

Fire and smoke doors designed to prevent fire from spreading were also wedged open.

Wellington City Council chief planning officer Liam Hodgetts said the problems were worked on with the building owner over the following months and an infringement notice was issued.

Loafers Lodge did not have fire sprinklers as the Building Code does not require them to be retrofitted.

It was issued with a building warrant of fitness in March.

Five people died in the hostel blaze that broke out two weeks ago.

The council only conducted onsite reviews of the hostel’s annual building warrants of fitness twice since 2012.

Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE) advice says the frequency of on-site reviews should reflect the perceived risk of the building’s use.

Building system assurance national manager Simon Thomas said this might mean buildings used for transient accommodation receive more frequent audits than a lowoccupancy industrial building.

MBIE’s Building Performance website lists the example of a backpackers’ hostel as a site where annual audits might be appropriate.

“While not mandatory, MBIE’s view is that for the intent of the Act to be met, and for territorial authorities to properly perform their roles, they must go on-site to the relevant buildings to determine whether the BWoF requirements are being met,” Thomas said.

MBIE’s recommendations for building warrants of fitness generally are that councils should conduct onsite reviews every three to five years.

This means 20 to 33 per cent of buildings should be inspected each year. The ministry recently audited the council and found it only reviewed 3.38 per cent of its buildings between May 2019 and May 2022.

Meanwhile, the council has found 25 buildings with similar safety concerns to Loafers Lodge.

Mayor Tory Whanau instructed council officials to identify such buildings in the days after the blaze.

“We are working with the owners to notify their residents as soon as possible so that they’re aware and then identify how we can make them safer,” she said.