‘It’s a tragedy’: Fire damage to central Whanganui hotel estimated to take months to repair

Firefighters were called to a blaze at the Avenue Hotel in Whanganui on Sunday night. Photo / Jess Hayward

Fire damage to a central Whanganui hotel is estimated to take months to repair.

The fire at the Avenue Hotel on Victoria Ave happened around 5.50pm on Sunday.

It took around 20 firefighters and four fire appliances to bring the blaze under control, with Victoria Ave cordoned off between Liverpool St and Pak’nSave.

Dot McKinnon, one of the hotel’s landowners, expected it would take at least the next few months to repair the building fully.

As the local hospitality sector was already struggling with a shortage of available hotels, the fire had come at the worst possible time, McKinnon said.

“It’s a tragedy. This is the worst possible thing to happen to us and to Whanganui as well.”

She said insurance assessors were on-site at the hotel and were still waiting for a report from fire investigators on the probable cause of the fire.

“We know it was in the kitchen but, at this stage, we don’t know what the cause is and if they’ve found it,” she said.

Reports from the assessors, fire investigator and tradespeople were needed to know the extent of the damage to the building and establish a timeline for repairs.

Damage was kept to the kitchen and immediate surrounding areas, with the accommodation units undamaged.

McKinnon said this meant, in theory, the accommodation could be used sooner, but the owners would look to repair the whole building before reopening.

“There’s a lot of work to be done, so we’re just waiting to get all the reports in to see what we can do next.”

Staff were contacting people who had booked to stay at the hotel to alert them to the situation and provide them with other accommodation options.

Around 20 people were evacuated from the hotel due to the fire and managing director Freya McKinnon has paid for a few nights’ accommodation at other premises around the city.

However, she recognised the difficulties posed for those whose stay had been disrupted.

“That’s going to be difficult for some people because they’re going to have to find alternative accommodation which isn’t easy at the moment in Whanganui,” she said.

The hotel staff were going to take some time to look at how to rebuild and come back from the blaze.

Fire and Emergency NZ Whanganui spokesman Aaron Summerhays said a fire investigator had been to the hotel on Monday.

Further investigation was taking place, so information on the cause of the fire was yet to be released.

Finn Williams is a multimedia journalist for the Whanganui Chronicle. He joined the Chronicle in early 2022 and regularly covers stories about business, events and emergencies. He also enjoys writing opinion columns on whatever interests him.