Loafers Lodge fire prompts probe of faulty detectors

• Published date: 28 March 2024
• Publication title: Daily Post, The (Rotorua, New Zealand)

It found a lot of fire and smoke doors meant to block smoke and flames were not up to scratch, and sub-par escape routes and warning systems

Only half the 37 buildings inspected had smoke detectors installed throughout.

The five deaths at Loafers Lodge in Wellington in May sparked a series of inquiries into fire protections.

One of those, an investigation at the 37 boarding houses nationwide — narrowed down from an initial 70 — found 134 problems.

Some urgent but complex problems had still not been resolved, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment said.

Fire safety system problems dominated (92) — for instance, only half of the smoke detectors checked were working.

“Many had the battery removed or had dead batteries, or the alarm mechanism had been removed, leaving only the case,” the report said.

The findings, released yesterday, showed 44 cases of inadequate protection for residents from flames and smoke such as smokestop doors not working.

Almost 40 problems were to do with escape routes and warning systems not being up to scratch.

“Escape routes were a major concern in some buildings where egress out of the building was obstructed or where the escape route itself was not adequate, safe or structurally sound.”

Of the 37 buildings, 24 had old alarm panels and 13 had newer ones.

Half the alarms were not monitored to transmit a signal to the fire brigade or other external centre.

“In one building, the wires to connect to the alarm monitoring company had been cut. Another building is known to repeatedly have their monitoring discontinued as the owner continually failed to pay the monitoring fees.”

MBIE said it had alerted councils to intervene and improve the boarding houses.

“The response has been positive and in many cases the recommendations have already been implemented, and issues resolved,” head of building system, delivery and assurance Simon Thomas said.

He told RNZ the inquiry set out to find if buildings similar to Loafers posed a fire safety risk.

“All those...