A man has been charged with two counts of arson following the deadly fire at Loafers Lodge in Wellington on Tuesday morning.
Police said in a statement tonight the man was arrested this afternoon.
He is due to appear in Wellington District Court on Friday.
"The investigation into the fire is ongoing and police have not ruled out further, more serious charges in relation to the deaths at the scene."
Inspector Dion Bennett says he's "confident" police are not seeking anyone else in relation to the fire.
"As the matter is now before the Court, police are unable to provide further comment at this stage."
Police removed two bodies from the scene today and the recovery of more bodies is expected to continue on Friday.
The death toll remains at six but could yet rise. (Source: 1News)
Adelaide Rd will also partially re-open from 6am on Friday.
Earlier today, Fire and Emergency New Zealand reassured the public they were adequately staffed and equipped to tackle the Loafers Lodge fire — but their ageing fleet does bring "challenges", according to chief executive Kerry Gregory.
It comes amid questions over the trucks and appliances available in Wellington for high-rise buildings.
Newtown's 32m-long ladder truck was out of service on Tuesday, having spent just 45 days in operation since July 2020, RNZ reported today. That truck was replaced with a 17m-long ladder truck at the fire, Gregory said.
"I want to reassure people we had the people and specialist equipment required for the Loafer's Lodge fire," Gregory said this morning.
"We dispatched 33 trucks, over 80 firefighters, from all over Wellington, for the duration of that event.
"This is how we respond to incidents of that magnitude."
New details have also emerged of what occurred before the fatal fire. (Source: 1News)
However, he added that, while FENZ has invested considerably in rebuilding and refurbishing fire stations and purchasing new trucks and specialist equipment since it was established in 2017, it does face challenges with ageing fleet and stations that are not fit for purpose.
Twenty-seven per cent of New Zealand's fire trucks are beyond their target asset life of 20 to 25 years.
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