The fatal fire at the Loafers Lodge hostel in Wellington has shed light on just how deeply New Zealand's housing crisis is affecting its most vulnerable people.
One survivor, Simon Hanify, returned to the scene on Wednesday as the police investigation got underway. As he reflected on his terrifying escape from the burning building, he made a very revealing statement.
He described the conditions inside the hostel and how relieved he was to have been moved into alternate accommodation, even if it took a tragedy.
"I'm really sorry for the people that have been hurt or perished, but I'm, in a way, grateful to be shot of the place, to be honest," he said.
"Not because of the people who lived there — it's somewhere you go when you've hit rock bottom. Or it was for me."
Simon became emotional as he described the lodge as a temporary stop after "living under a tree", explaining that he was grateful to have somewhere to stay.
"But I've got scars from the bedbugs, they were just through the whole building," he said.
"I was grateful to have somewhere to live, and I'm grateful I have some permanent housing now."
Simon said residents struggled to make it out of the building after the fire broke out late on Monday night, explaining that the front entrance had been out of order for several weeks.
"Bit of a rough bunch, some of us that lived there. I think someone smashed the door," he said.
"It's been closed and [we] used the side entrance only for about three weeks. It was all cracked.
"So it's been locked, had a sign on it saying 'door broken, use side entrance'."
Simon managed to escape with his phone, wallet and headphones, but he fears many of the residents have lost everything in the fire.
"My dad's chisels are in there, that's the only thing I really value. Hopefully they survived."
Residents say some people didn't hear or ignored fire alarms
Simon said he knocked on the doors of his neighbours, warning them "it's real this time".
False fire alarm after false fire alarm had reportedly reduced the sense of urgency among residents.
Some residents have also reported that alarms did not go off on some floors of the hostel.
On Wednesday, the director of the company that owns Loafers Lodge, Gregory Mien, denied the hostel had an arrangement with emergency services over false fire alarms.
Wellington Mayor Tory Whanau also faced questions over the false alarms and whether the city's most vulnerable people should be living in this standard of accommodation.
As Ms Whanau fielded questions about how many other buildings across her city were in a similar condition and how many people were at risk of dying in the only home they can afford, another Loafers Lodge resident stood at the back of the media pack.
Chris was hoping to ask the mayor a few questions of his own. He wanted to ask about building codes and "why it takes a tragedy for questions to be asked".
He had been around for most of the day, initially arriving on the scene to lay a small bunch of flowers at a tribute set up on the footpath.
He recalled grabbing his hat and his vape, dropping to the floor and crawling towards the fire escape.
"There's a lot of people who are unaccounted-for, we don't know whether they've passed away or they've gone with family members, or they weren't there at the time. It's gonna be a slow and probably sad journey," he said.
Police believe fire was deliberately lit
After several delays, police were finally able to enter the building to begin the investigation on Wednesday afternoon.
"I can confirm that we are treating the fire as arson," Wellington Police's acting district commander Dion Bennett said.
"A number of officers spent the day yesterday at Newtown Park speaking to some of those residents who did evacuate.
"We are aware that not everyone went to Newtown Park yesterday ... we want to speak to those residents along with anyone else who may have information that may assist this investigation."
Today, NZ Police area commander Dion Bennett said the detailed analysis of the scene had begun, but warned a final death toll would take some time.
"We are doing everything we can to recover and identify the deceased and loved ones from the loafers lodge site," he said.
"In terms of [the number of] deceased, our final confirmation will still not be done until we have done a detailed examination.
"We are working at recovering two bodies today, two tomorrow and then we will assess and re-evaluate the plan."
In an earlier statement, Inspector Bennett confirmed that there had been another fire lit earlier on Monday evening, before the fatal fire that began after midnight.
"The couch fire [at 10:30pm] was not reported to emergency services at the time," he said.
"As part of our enquiries, we will be seeking to confirm any link between that couch fire and the subsequent fatal fire."
Asked how he felt about the possibility the fatal fire was deliberately lit, Simon said:
"Pretty effing disgusted. Disgusted mate, and really sad. Very emotional."
His anger was spilling over as he looked into one of the dozen media cameras gathered and warned anyone who may have been responsible to beware, "before the boys get ya, because they're angry people, man — lost their whole lives, everything they own".
Chris said he felt quite a bond with the people who had died, and that he believed "people have lost their lives over a stupid act".
"We're all on the same page with what happened, [but] at the end of the day you've just got to let the police and fire do their job, and then once they've done their stuff, what actually happened will come out," he said.
NZ housing crisis pushing people into emergency housing
In New Zealand, the emergency housing system works as a stop before permanent public housing.
It is designed to be a low-barrier, immediate solution for Kiwis who are living on the street or need a safe place to stay and have no time to wait on a list.
According to the latest figures from New Zealand's housing register, there were 24,081 people waiting for public housing as of March this year, including 2,165 in the Wellington region.
Loafers Lodge was not being used as emergency accommodation when the fire broke out, but the ABC has been told the building was part of the government's emergency housing allocation until around 2021.
In response to a request under NZ's Official Information Act (similar to freedom of information laws in Australia), the Ministry of Social Development listed Loafers Lodge as one of its emergency housing suppliers as of April 2021.
According to another OIA request, Loafers Lodge received $560 in emergency housing supplier grants for the quarter ending September 2022. The same document listed $0 paid to Loafers Lodge in the quarter ending December 2022.
New Zealand's Human Rights Commission launched an inquiry into emergency housing in 2021. In its final report delivered in December 2022, it found: "The current emergency housing system is seriously failing. Many people are in serious and unaddressed housing need."
Last year, several New Zealanders told the ABC they preferred living in their cars than in the emergency housing system, saying they felt safer on their own.
As part of its recommendations, the Human Rights Commission called for a solution to the inconsistencies between emergency accommodation and transitional housing, and phasing out the use of uncontracted commercial accommodation suppliers.
It is understood those residents who lived in Loafers Lodge at the time of the fire were on lease agreements.
What now for those left behind
Fifty people escaped to an evacuation centre set up in the hours immediately after the fire, before being moved into accommodation — a mixture of short and long-term, some in motels, others in other hostels.
A number of government and council agencies, community groups and charities rallied to house this group of people, give them access to showers and warm beds.
Ninety pizzas were ordered to feed the hordes, while residents who escaped in bare feet were given new shoes, and some had their mobile phones replaced.
Earlier on Wednesday, Mayor Whanau said the council's immediate priority would be supporting former residents of Loafers Lodge and assisting police with their investigation.
"This is a part of the community that's already experiencing struggles in their life. And just to have this, it's just unbelievable," she said.
But she flagged the need for a long-term solution to the city's shortage of accommodation for its vulnerable residents.
"There are questions about the standard of our building codes, about the access to support for our vulnerable communities. In the long-term that will be our utmost priority," she said.
"This has been a real wake-up call for building owners, landlords, our council and other providers.
"Is it time to set up an inquiry into the standard of our building, our code of compliance? That's certainly something I'll be supporting, because there is absolutely no way we can let this happen again."
For many who were living in the lodge, they had struggled to access the care they need before the fire, but now they have a few nights of relief at least.
