Wellington fire: Remembrance service for victims to be held next month

May 31, 2023
A blaze started at the Newtown hostel during the early hours of May 16, killing five people.

A service of remembrance is set to be held in Wellington next month to acknowledge the Loafer's Lodge residents who lost their lives in the fire.

A blaze started at the Newtown hostel during the early hours of May 16, killing five people.

Police today said all 99 residents living at the lodge when it caught fire have now been accounted for.

At 5pm on Thursday, June 15, a service will be held at St Paul's Cathedral to remember the residents who died, as well as the survivors.

Wellington City Missioner Murray Edridge told 1News it's an occasion for the community to come together to acknowledge what happened and pay tribute to those who died.

"It's a chance to wrap our support around the survivors and the whānau of the family of the deceased as a community."

The event is being organised by St Paul's Cathedral, Wellington City Mission and Wellington City Council.

"There's a timing importance here because you need to allow people to grieve with their families but you don't want to leave it too long.

"Whilst we don't want to drag up bad memories, we do want to be reminded of what happened and make sure that whatever improvements come out of this are taken advantage of."

In an update today, Wellington City Mission advised a total of $71,300 from the Mayoral Relief Fund has been disbursed to Loafer's Lodge residents so far from donations of $346,005.

Wellington City Council kickstarted the funding campaign with $50,000 and another $296,005 was raised by generous Kiwis wanting to help.

The money is being dispersed between about 90 people who were placed in contact with Wellington City Mission.

Three days after the fire, a $500 payment was made available to people, many of whom walked out of the building with nothing, to help them get back on their feet.

"On the Tuesday, the day the building was evacuated, everyone was provided with spare clothes, toiletries, shoes, a cellphone and some food," Edridge said.

"We got everyone into temporary accommodation for the next week, but we thought after two or three days having access to a further $500 was a helpful support structure for the interim. We also asked them what else they needed."

So far the breakdown of costs allocated across about 90 people includes $47,500 cash payments, $2723 for temporary accommodation, $2390 on medical expenses, $3625 on clothes and $577 for clothes.

Another $11,198 has been spent on travel expenses for family members to support survivors or attend a funeral, which includes three family members from the UK.

"Now we're getting into different costs, we're trying to get people into permanent housing."

Edridge says it's unlikely the fund will be distributing large amounts of cash out to people at any point in the future, instead specific items will be paid which might include furniture and whiteware.

"Our encouragement to resident is to make sure they access the things that are important to them."

WCC has been approached for comment.

A man has been charged with arson following the fire and has since appeared in court.

A criminal investigation at the scene is expected to wrap up on Friday.

SHARE ME

More Stories