Ōhakune fire at Kings motel - Six crews worked to put out ‘challenging’ blaze

A fire has ripped through the Kings Motel, Bar and Restaurant.

About 50 guests staying at a lodge, bar and restaurant in Ōhakune were forced to evacuate in the early hours of the morning after a blaze ripped through the property.

Fire crews from Ōhakune, Raetihi, Waiōuru, National Park, Taihape and Whanganui all responded to the “challenging” fire at Kings Ōhakune around 2.50am.

“We can let you all know that our guests, residents and staff are safe after a scary alarm at 3am this morning,” Kings posted on its Facebook page.

“We are very lucky and thankful the building didn’t suffer too badly as our improvements did what they should do and limited damage.”

All the guests were taken to Turoa Lodge for shelter and hot chocolate, the post read.

The historic building is a well-known, long-standing hotel which dates back to 1913.

It is known to have stunning views of Mt Ruapehu and also boasts a bar and restaurant.

Central Fire and Emergency shift manager Carlos Dempsey said the local fire brigade initially responded and found a fire in the Rimu St property’s boiler room.

”It’s got into the wall cavities and the ceiling so it’s pretty challenging to extinguish. It went to our third alarm level,” said Dempsey.

Dempsey said there have been no reports of any injuries.

He also said the fire is not spreading further than the boiler room.

A police spokesperson said police were advised of the fire on Rimu St but did not attend.

Kings posted that it would be closed tonight but hoped to be back open on Monday.