Kāinga Ora re-housing some tenants after ‘major’ fire in central Wellington flats

Fire and Emergency New Zealand were first called to the scene at about 6pm and left about three hours later. Photo / Nick James, RNZ

Kāinga Ora has had to move some tenants from their homes after a fire broke out at a block of flats owned by the housing agency last night. An explosion occurred at the same site in March, injuring two people.

Fire crews from as far as Upper Hutt were called to the blaze around Church and Boulcott Sts around 6pm and left at about 9pm.

Kāinga Ora greater Wellington regional director Vicki McLaren said the housing agency was “very concerned” to hear of the blaze, which occurred in a block containing more than 90 flats.

McLaren confirmed no one was injured in last night’s blaze. She said the agency’s immediate focus was “checking to make sure that all our customers were safe”.

About 10 people had to be moved from their homes in the block of flats following the fire.

McLaren said Kāinga Ora arranged for the tenants to stay in temporary accommodation last night.

“Our teams are now working to find them alternative places to live while we assess the extent of the damage to their homes and organise any repair work that is necessary,” she added.

Residents were evacuated from the nine-storey building last night as emergency services tackled the blaze.

Repair works to restore water service in the Wellington CBD had to be cancelled due to the incident, prompting Wellington Water to set up a tanker on Lambton Quay. At the time, Wellington Water called the incident a “major fire”.

Repair works were called off, and equipment to provide a temporary water feed, and traffic management, were taken to the intersection at Lambton Quay and Hunter St.

A Wellington Water post on social media said this was done “to prioritise the supply of water for fire and emergency purposes”.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand central shift manager Carlos Dempsey said a specialist fire investigator will be attending the scene this morning “to determine what happened”.

The Kāinga Ora block of flats on Church Street. Photo / Ethan Manera

Police said in a statement they were still “following lines of inquiry” regarding the incident.

McLaren added the cause of the incident was a matter for Fire and Emergency to investigate, but said the housing agency “will provide any assistance we can as a landlord”.

“Early information we have received from Fire and Emergency suggests the fire was started accidentally,” she said in a statement.

An explosion took place at the same block of flats in early March – an incident which sent two people to hospital with injuries.

Azaria Howell is a Wellington-based multimedia reporter with an eye across the region. She joined NZME in 2022 after multiple years as a student journalist. She has a keen interest in city council decisions, public sector reform, and transport.