Youths seen running from fire area

The woman who alerted emergency services to a burning building in Cannons Creek on Sunday saw a group of youths run from the property minutes before it went up in flames.

Porirua resident Rose Daymond was working near the building in Bedford Court on the night of the fire.

As she arrived, she saw five young people run out of the entrance just after 10pm, eight minutes before smoke started coming from the building.

‘‘As I pulled up they were coming out, aged between 10 and 15, there were five of them. I’m not saying that they started it because there’s no proof ... then I saw the smoke.

‘‘I didn’t have my phone on me, and the smoke was getting bigger, and then I ... all I heard was this ‘bang, crackle’.’’

She went to Donna Mikaere’s house across the street to call the fire service.

Mikaere saw fire and police vehicles arrive minutes after the call was made.

The gutted building is owned by Wellington landlord Naginbhai Patel.

He was distressed as he surveyed the charred remains on Monday. ‘‘It feels terrible. I’m very disappointed.’’

A police representative said the cause of the fire was not yet known but t foul play had not been ruled out.

The building, formerly the Graffiti Bar, was previously the subject of a court dispute when Patel attempted to procure a liquor licence for the property.

More than 1900 signatures were collected in protest at the application, and Patel had since repurposed the space as a community event centre.

The Vishnu Trust, which represents Patel, said ‘‘care, love and creativity were all poured into the venue, and everyone involved has been completely devastated by what has happened.

‘‘Right now, the trust is concentrating on clean up, but they have never and will never let the site become derelict ... the same goal will be kept – doing something that the people of Cannons Creek can be proud of.’’