Storage fire victims still struggling
ALMOST three months after a fire ripped through a Wellington storage building shattered victims are still trying to pick up the pieces as the building owners look to rebuild.
The blaze at Kiwi Self Storage in Kilbirnie on April 4 destroyed irreplaceable photos, rare records, Oscar statuettes, childhood books, and countless other items.
An estimated 370 units gutted.
Wellington bronze sculptor Megan Ransom, who lost $50,000 worth of tools and possessions in the fire, said the effects were ‘‘catastrophic’’.
‘‘I’m taking things day by day. Basically it’s bottomed me out completely. It’s hard to move forward with anything with my life.’’
What little she had salvaged now lay in plastic bins at her house. ‘‘I can’t even bear to look at it.’’
were Former Kiwi Self Storage customer Peter Fowler
Ransom, who organised Facebook page Kiwi Inferno Storage for fire victims, said like many she wasn’t insured, believing her belongings were safe.
Others, like Eileen Frost, thought they were covered, only to discover they were not.
‘‘It turned out we hadn’t told our insurance company each year that our goods were still in storage. I accept it was my responsibility to check that our items were covered.’’
Frost, whose unit suffered water and smoke damage, said she felt ‘‘awful’’ for those who had lost everything.
Peter Fowler lost valuable possessions including three paintings by Nelson artist Jane Evans.
‘‘In terms of a sense those are what endures.’’
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Joint legal action remained a possibility, depending on what new information came out through the legal process and fire investigation.
Questions remained over the design of the building, Fowler said.
‘‘How does a modern building burn for 24 hours, completely out of control?’’
Kiwi Self Storage director Andrew Fraser said the length of time it burned for reflected safety decisions.
‘‘The reason it burned for so long was that the Fire Service very sensibly decided, after having initially entered the build- ing and once they saw no-one was trapped inside, to fight the fire from outside the building to minimise the risk to their own lives.’’
The company planned to rebuild on the site, he said.
‘‘We started the demolition this week, and we’re designing the new building at the moment.’’
Sprinklers may be included, but only if the risk from water damage could be managed.
‘‘We’re still working through those issues. Fire is a very rare event in a storage facility, whereas with water there’s an ever present risk when you have a sprinkler system. However this has focused our attention on the issue and we’re looking at it.’’
Damage in the worst affected zone ranged from ‘‘bad to terrible’’, he said.
‘‘A lot of units were ash. Some bits and pieces survived, but it was a bit random.’’
Customers were taken one by one to look at their belongings and remove anything they wanted, in a month-long process following the fire.
A 34-year-old man has pleaded not guilty to damaging the storage facility.
He appeared in court earlier this month, where he was granted continued name suppression and remanded until next month.