The Auckland man who owns Waipukurau's old hospital says he is devastated his late brother's dream's went up in smoke after an arson attack yesterday.
Jason Dempsey said his brother Sean had planned to turn the historic building into a mixed residential complex, possibly with a cafe and art gallery at
the front, with the rest turned into a commercial site.
His brother died recently aged 42 after three years battling cancer, and Mr Dempsey now plans to sell what remains.
"He was the driving force," Mr Dempsey said. "It was his baby."
The pair bought the site from the Central Hawke's Bay District Council in 1999 when services moved to the Health Centre.
"Short story is, he fell in love with the building and in love with the area and was planning to move there. He did live there for a while when he first bought it.
"We spent a lot of money barricading it and putting locks on but it just kept getting broken into. As absentee landlords, I think we did the best we could.
"We're not two flash Aucklanders, we're just hard-working guys. It's been pretty unlucky for our whole family."
He gave a demolition crew the green light to pull down what remained of a block yesterday so firefighters, who had been called to the scene at 1.30am, could safely access the smouldering remains of the morgue. That decision alone cost him $20,000. But Mr Dempsey was just pleased no one was injured.
Central Hawke's Bay Mayor Trish Giddens was also devastated, having worked at the hospital for 27 years, starting in the kitchen and working her way through eight positions to become general manager.
It had 315 staff and 120 beds at one stage and was a quality training ground for nurses.
Many hospital staff who had trained there still lived in Waipukurau and would be very upset, she said. "It was like one big family here."
Since its sale, the building had been vandalised, copper piping had been jack-hammered from the walls and people sometimes lived there.
Arsonists had attempted to burn it several times, including three years ago when a molotov cocktail was thrown through the front window of the administration block. There had recently been two nearby arson attempts.
The community often complained and the council was planning a clean up in February.
A television show documenting the paranormal was due to film there at the end of the month.
"We have always thought there were two ghosts in there," she said.
Coupled with a robbery of the Waipukurau PostShop that morning, it was a "bad start to the bloody year", the mayor said.
"I hope they get the ratbags."
Waipukurau chief fire officer Gary Weaver said the fire was lit deliberately. There was "no way it could have been an ember", he said. About 28 people were evacuated from nearby houses because of concerns some of the building still contained asbestos.
Hawke's Bay DHB said there was no evidence of asbestos but said anyone with a sore or dry throat, cough or wheeze, shortness of breath, watery eyes, headache or tiredness should seek medical attention.
The fire was first reported by a crew heading to a callout to Porangahau and about 80 firefighters and 17 appliances attended. Some remained overnight.
The dangerous state of the building meant they only fought it from outside.
Mr Dempsey was travelling to Hawke's Bay today to assess the damage.
"Hopefully we can do a bit of clean up and get it sorted. It's a great building and I hope it can be utilised by the community."
The Auckland man who owns Waipukurau's old hospital says he is devastated his late brother's dream's went up in smoke after an arson attack yesterday.
Jason Dempsey said his brother Sean had planned to turn the historic building into a mixed residential complex, possibly with a cafe and art gallery at
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