Rotorua emergency housing: The Four Canoes Hotel fire report is a damning assessment

Four Canoes Hotel on Fenton St. Photo / Andrew Warner

Death or injury was likely at Rotorua’s emergency housing facility Four Canoes Hotel if a fire broke out, a damning fire risk report has revealed.

The report has also revealed there were other serious incidents at the hotel, including violence, drug use, sexual assault and psychotic episodes.

A Fire and Emergency New Zealand (Fenz) report released to the Rotorua Daily Post revealed the Fenton St hotel should have had smoke alarms and a sprinkler system given it was being used for emergency housing.

A photo of the Four Canoes Hotel as featured in the Fenz fire risk report.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development contracts social services providers to run the hotel and has done under the Covid-19 umbrella since 2021.

There are two Covid-19 Response emergency housing facilities in Rotorua that were set up to safely house rough sleepers when the pandemic broke out.

The contracts for Four Canoes and the other motel - Tuscany Villas - expire on June 30.

The Rotorua Daily Post has previously reported that Lifewise took over the running of the Four Canoes Hotel last year and immediately raised health and safety concerns.

The report, by Bay of Plenty senior risk adviser Lynda McHugh and dated August 22, was released to the Rotorua Daily Post today by the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development.

Rotorua Lakes Council asked Fenz to do the report last year given the building had undergone a change of use - from a motel to one being used for emergency housing. The change meant there were more onerous requirements to meet in terms of fire risk management.

The report found “several building-related issues” represented a risk to the occupants if a fire occurred.

Despite the building manager and building owner representative saying that “to their knowledge” there was no one living at the hotel who would require assistance if an evacuation was needed, McHugh’s report said she became aware the hotel was being managed by Lifewise, which provided mental health and alcohol/drug rehabilitation.

She found eight to 10 of the occupants were subject to a Compulsory Treatment Plan under the Mental Health Act 1992.

A padlocked gate caused concern that occupants had nowhere to escape to. Photo / Fenz report

The report said Lifewise advised the council that was an “extremely high and inappropriate proportion of high-needs clients”. Lifewise would typically have no more than three at a facility as they required significant staff resources, the report said.

Lifewise also raised concerns about a number of people at the hotel who needed more intensive support, the report said.

The ministry had contracted on-site security but Lifewise said those workers did not have experience dealing with people suffering acute mental distress, the report said.

McHugh’s report said service providers at Four Canoes had reported multiple serious incidents including violence, drug use, sexual assaults and psychotic episodes.

The report said the building had an automatic fire alarm system with heat detectors but there were no smoke detectors or sprinkler system, which was of “significant concern given the occupants might be under the influence of medication while asleep”, the report said.

Smoke-stop doors were held open. Photo / Fenz report

McHugh found several fire extinguishers were missing, along with some exit signs and handheld firefighting equipment, and a number of smoke-control doors were wedged, jammed or held open by placed items.

There didn’t appear to be an up-to-date evacuation procedure and notices of where to evacuate were missing. A gate outside was padlocked, which could have prevented people from escaping to a safe place.

The report said a number of the occupants were smokers and while they were not supposed to smoke in their rooms, it was noted there was “extreme difficulty” controlling that.

“To provide all occupants in this building with the best chance of surviving a serious fire in these circumstances is to have smoke detection and sprinklers installed throughout the building,” the report said.

The report said Four Canoes had 11 false alarms in about 11 months from September 2021. Six of them related to malicious tampering, four were undetermined and one was accidental.

Officers attending the callouts noted smoking was occurring in bedrooms - which was activating the detectors - and on a couple of occasions no evacuation had taken place.

In answering the question of whether the building was dangerous, McHugh’s report said she was “extremely concerned” that due to many issues, the occupants of the building couldn’t escape the sleeping areas should a fire occur.

The report concluded the hotel provided accommodation to some of the most vulnerable members of Rotorua’s community and there was an obligation to ensure all people inside it would be kept safe in a fire and could safely evacuate the building.

The Rotorua Daily Post requested all information relating to the Four Canoes Hotel under an Official Information Act request on March 31. The request was narrowed at the ministry’s request on April 12.

The ministry asked for an extension in May and responded on the due date on June 1 ,detailing 52 items it would release as part of the request. However, it only listed the 52 items and instead said it needed more time to prepare the documents for release.

The ministry contacted the Rotorua Daily Post today to say the Fenz report, which was one of the 52 items it intended to release, would be released today.

Kelly Makiha is a senior journalist who has reported for the Rotorua Daily Post for more than 25 years, covering mainly police, court, human interest and social issues.