The residential areas of the building have been non-compliant since May when the fire safety certificate lapsed.
“So why has it taken this long to tell us to get out, and for it to happen just before Christmas?” the resident asked.
The other resident spoken to, Gisborne wheelchair-bound street musician Moses Hiakita, said the news this week took a while to sink in. He has lived in the Masonic flats for eight years.
“I was shocked. I can understand what’s going on but why so close to Christmas?”
Mr Hiakita has been one of two people in wheelchairs who live there.
The council’s director for environment and protection Nick Zaman said Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) provided a report on their investigation into the fire safety measures in the building on December 5.
“We regret the timing of the Dangerous Building Notice and recognise this creates an even more unpleasant situation, where alternative accommodation needs to be found for tenants before Christmas.
“Our foremost concern was to address the immediate risk for the safety of the residents, but given the lack of action by the owner, and the severity of the danger, we had no choice but to act immediately.”
Area fire commander Charlie Turei said there was an immediate concern for the safety of life on the upper levels used for accommodation if a fire were to break out.
“That is due to the building’s poor fire design and fire safety features,” he said.
Measures not fast enoughMr Zaman said no measures could be put in place quickly enough to reduce the immediate risk to the people in the accommodation.
“It has been established the building is dangerous from a fire risk perspective everywhere above the ground floor.
“There is still no evidence of upgrades to the building by the owner and the fire system is not up to the standard required.
“There are penetrations and damaged fire separations, and fire escapes and escape pathways that still remain a major issue and need to be addressed,” he said.
Mr Turei said FENZ had provided advice to the owners through their representative over a number of years and had not heard back.
“We have told them over that period of time what needed to be done, but we got no response.
“In September we initiated a formal report process to the council for consideration, and also gave the owners a further update.
“But they had not responded by the end of November so we provided the report to the GDC.”
Mr Zaman said the council acted on the FENZ advice as soon as the report was received and this week issued a Dangerous Building Notice in line with the Buildings Act 2004.
“It requires the building owner to resolve the issues up to fire safety standards or vacate the areas used for sleeping within the next 10 days.
“The repairs that need to be made are extensive and we understand the timeframe to resolve them is unlikely to be met by the owner.”
Unable to get comment from ownersThe Herald has so far been unable to get comment from the owners.
The Masonic building is owned by the father of Thomas Cheng, a Singaporean man who came to live in Gisborne in December 2015, and who has admitted trafficking methamphetamine into New Zealand and supplying it here.
Cheng, 34, was arrested in 2016 as part of a police undercover operation.
He remains on remand in jail after he pleaded guilty to two representative charges of importation and supply of a Class A drug, methamphetamine.
He will be sentenced in February. Cheng lived in the Masonic before his arrest.
The building is one of six commercial properties in the Gisborne area owned by five corporate entities with which his father William Cheng, or Mr Cheng senior’s wife, Nyioh Chew Hong, continue to be associated.
The Crown has sought forfeiture of the properties and those court proceedings are proceeding.
Mayor Meng Foon has expressed concern about the timing of the building’s fire safety issues coming to light and the circumstances it puts the residents in so close to Christmas.
“Minimising any strain on tenants is our current focus and it’s our priority to find alternative accommodation for tenants before Christmas," he said.
“We have committed staff who are currently working with social services and the building manager to ensure tenants will be housed and supported.”
Starting a processMr Hiakita said he was spoken to by a WINZ representative and another person about his housing situation, on Thursday.
“They have started a process to help me find somewhere else to live. Ideally I need somewhere near as possible to the CBD, preferably in it, because I'm in a wheelchair.
“I'm hopeful they can help find me somewhere to go but next Friday is not very far away.”
The other resident spoken to has already made other arrangements.
Mr Zaman said the council had arranged with the building manager to put precautions in place with fire wardens and monitoring for the safety of residents, until next Friday.
Businesses in the building at street level are not affected by the dangerous building notice.
“The ground floor parts of the building are considered low risk because the fire systems in place for the businesses and the way they are used meet the fire safety standards.”
¦ The “dangerous building” notice applies only to the fire risk because the Masonic has not been listed as an earthquake risk.
“It has been assessed by a structural engineer and is over the 33 percent threshold standard set by the Government,” said the council’s building services manager Ian Petty.
“That standard measures the quake risk factor for buildings and the Masonic does not require any earthquake strengthening.”
