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Firefighters investigating cause of ‘pretty bad’ blaze on Mansfield St, Newtown
Firefighters are investigating the cause of a massive house fire in the Wellington suburb of Newtown overnight.
The fire on Mansfield Street broke at about 11.40pm on Thursday and could not be contained until about 2.30am on Friday. The building has been extensively damaged.
It was initially unclear whether anyone was inside the two-storied property. Once firefighters were able to enter the building, Fire and Emergency (FENZ) assistant commander Steve Hudson said a primary search did not reveal anyone inside.
Three neighbouring properties were evacuated and Mansfield Street was closed. A FENZ spokesperson said the road was reopened by 4.20am and the evacuated residents allowed to return home.
Two crews of firefighters remained on standby at the scene on Friday morning, after some were released from about 3am – as operations began to scale back.
At the height of the blaze, six fire trucks, an aerial appliance, a command unit and a breathing apparatus tender for decontamination were in attendance.
Hudson said an investigation would be carried out to establish the origin and cause of the fire.
Firefighters are battling a massive blaze at a Newtown house. Photo: Supplied / Shay Vaseneva
On social media, some users reported smelling smoke inside Wellington Hospital and as far away as Te Aro.
FENZ advised anyone affected by the smoke to keep their doors and windows closed, and stay inside.
Earlier, at 1am, shift manager Chris Dalton said the fire was “pretty bad” and still had not been contained.
Firefighters were working to stop the flames from spreading when RNZ spoke to him.
“That’s what we’re working on now,” he said, noting many of the houses in the area were older structures.
“It’s an area where lots of houses are all built next to each other.”
It was not immediately clear at that time whether anyone was inside the building, Dalton said.
Newtown resident Shay Vaseneva said she could see firefighters putting up caution tape around Mansfield Street at about 12.30am.
“The house is in flames, there’s no doubt, with quite a few fire trucks and police cars. It looked like they were making sure the fire doesn’t spread to the neighbours, obviously it must be unsafe inside,” they said.
The smoke and smell were “pretty bad down the street from the house”.
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The chief executive of the Parliamentary Service is confident there will be enough room to accommodate the increased number of MPs and their staff coming into Parliament.
On current numbers, up to 131 MPs could be sitting in the Chamber following the election, brought on by a record overhang result.
Clerk of the House of Representatives Dr David Wilson told the Spinoff that currently the debating chamber had enough chairs to seat 124 MPs – including the Speaker of the House – and work was being done to accommodate more by altering the seating arrangement.
In a statement, Parliamentary Service chief executive Rafael Gonzalez-Montero said planning for a larger Parliament had been going for “some time”.
“Now that the election results have confirmed an increase to the number of members we are looking at several options.
“We are confident we will be able to accommodate all members within the Chamber.”
VNP / Phil Smith
Gonzalez-Montero said office accommodation for members and their staff would be “stretched” for a short time, but the new Members’ Building was only a few months away from “practical completion”.
That building – located behind Parliament – was due to be ready to occupy in April next year and had capacity to accommodate around 30 backbench MPs.
“All members should be in fit-for-purpose accommodation from that point,” Gonzalez-Montero said.
Following the 2023 election, 123 MPs sat in the Chamber – a record number at the time. That decreased to 122 following the resignation of National MP Judith Collins.
Collins held the seat of Papakura and stepped down in May and Parliament voted against holding a by-election because it was too close to the election.
The election result also meant high-ranking National Party MPs like Chris Bishop, Paul Goldsmith, Nicola Willis and Gerry Brownlee – Speaker of the House and an MP for 30 years – would likely not make it back into Parliament.
Only resigning or retiring MPs were permitted to give a valedictory speech meaning none of them would get the chance to give a valedictory statement.
Asked if their would be special allowances for valedictories, Wilson said in a statement that normally only MPs were allowed to speak in the House but the House could suspend its own rules or temporarily alter them.
“It could do so to allow former members to address the House.”
Wilson said no such arrangements could be made until the next Parliament opened and members sworn in.
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