NZ News

Firefighters facing more than just fire at Bay of Plenty emergency housing providers

Published

3 years ago

June 13, 2023

Fire alarms subject to “malicious” tampering, smoke stop doors missing and “trickling” hoses for fighting fires.

These are some of what fire inspections and investigations have been finding at government-subsidised emergency housing providers in the Bay of Plenty.

After one caught fire, firefighters faced off against aggressive dogs.

The risks are compounded by a whole layer of fire safety inspections that have been missing in the Bay for months.

FENZ risk reduction inspectors stopped checking fire alarms and evacuation schemes last July after some assaults on other officials at motels. Their union said FENZ needed to set up proper safety-at-work training, PPE and procedures before they would restart.

The high-risk examples in Rotorua and Taupō came to light during RNZ inquiries, spurred by the fatal Loafers Lodge fire in May, into the safety risks at housing for vulnerable people.

At an emergency housing motel in Taupō that fire ripped through last year, a smoke stop door and smoke alarms were missing. Firefighters said it was “pure luck” someone was not badly hurt or killed at Berkenhoff Lodge in the midnight blaze last November.

Three months later, surprise inspections at three other emergency housing providers in Taupō found missing or dodgy smoke stop doors, fire alarms and evacuation signs.

Earlier this month, a FENZ manager in Bay of Plenty said in an email: “It was only a matter of time until someone died in a fire at one of these providers.”

Lack of power

This followed an earlier investigation at a Rotorua emergency housing motel that concluded death or injury was “likely” if it caught fire.

The fire alarms had been tampered with half a dozen times at the Four Canoes Hotel, a FENZ report said.

Government agencies had been housing high-risk, high-needs people there for months. For residents like this, the hotel should have had sprinklers and better alarms, FENZ said.

But while FENZ and councils could demand that existing alarms and evacuation schemes are up to scratch, they had few powers to demand any upgrades; in some cases, they could not even require a motel to install a basic smoke alarm in each room.

Official documents said the government had become increasingly reliant on emergency housing since 2016, but had been legally powerless to set safety standards; and so councils’ hands, too, have been tied, other than relying on generic building regulations.

Evacuation questions

The explosion of emergency housing in Bay of Plenty introduced new stresses to councils, ministries and fire inspectors.

Though official figures put the number of providers there at 30 and dropping, FENZ inspection lists number more than 100. The quality varies hugely.

The reports show that even when inspectors identify fire risks, they are not always dealt with. FENZ had been asking for months for Four Canoes to make “urgent” changes to its evacuation scheme, they showed.

The Ministry of Housing and Urban Development knew about this, but took the hotel’s word it had “strategies” in place, a FENZ letter last December said.

“It is of concern that these ‘strategies’ have not been discussed or provided to FENZ, as FENZ must approve any changes to their evacuation scheme,” the senior risk advisor wrote.

FENZ was called in last July after the district council expressed fears for residents’ safety.

It found people often smoked in their rooms, questioned the fire protections and concluded “there is still a serious risk that occupants … may be overcome by smoke resulting in injury or death”.

Everything up to scratch – hotel

The major hotel chain that owns Four Canoes, CPG, said it had put in place all the fire protections required of it.

“Whatever [the Ministry of Housing] has asked for, we gave them,” said group operations manager Ronnie Ronalde.

The hotel was always compliant, he argued. This is despite the FENZ investigation that said it was not compliant, leading to the council putting a ‘dangerous building’ notice on it in mid-2022.

Ronalde said this was lifted in December after CPG put in extra smoke detectors.

They had always had regular security checks, and the evacuation scheme had always been adequate for the hotel operation, he said.

He blamed Lakes District Council for unnecessary interventions based on the mistaken notion the hotel had undergone a “change of use” when it had not.

“They took one perspective … and made my life hell.”

Ronalde oversaw 30 hotels, but this one had been an “absolute headache”.

Only four emergency housing tenants – and not high-needs ones – were still at the hotel, and no other guests; once it was empty, they would rebrand it and reopen it as a tourist hotel, Ronalde said.

A second CPG operation, the Lake Rotorua Hotel, was still used for emergency housing, for families, he added.

Taupō inspections

In Taupō, council-initiated checks on three emergency housing motels in February found “numerous flammable items stored in the hallway”, “inadequate fire separation in the laundry between ground and first floor”, “no evacuation notices displayed” and most smoke stop doors did not close properly at one of them.

At the two others, they found problems with smoke alarms and evacuation notices.

Taupō District Council told RNZ there were only five emergency housing providers in town. Four of them have a current Building Warrant of Fitness, gained after passing checks including on fire safety systems.

The one without had an on-site inspection last week and was awaiting confirmation it passed. Back in February, where non-compliances were found, the building owners were followed up on.

At Berkenhoff Lodge, a first-floor room was thought by a FENZ investigator to have been set alight deliberately while people were asleep on 16 November last year.

A smoke stop door was missing completely in a hallway that led to bedrooms.

Two residents woke up and ran to get the fire hoses.

“I couldn’t tell what was burning, it was pitch black. I could just see the flames; they were only about knee height,” said one, who had lived there for two years.

“I turned the hose on and there was no water, it was only trickling out the end.”

Such long-term accommodation relies on government special needs grants. The average length of stay nationwide at present is about 20 weeks.

The alarms at the lodge went off. It had heat detectors, manual fire alarm call points and smoke alarms in the hallway, but some rooms had empty smoke alarm base plates fixed to them, the investigation found.

Another resident said: “The flames just completely took over. An occupant tried to fight the fire with the hose but there was hardly any water pressure. I went around a few other rooms helping get people and dogs out of the building”.

The aggressive dogs, and aggressive occupants confronted firefighters when they got there.

Firefighters told RNZ they sometimes felt intimidated or physically exposed when they were called to a fire or medical emergency. The Professional Firefighters’ Union said the type of programme US brigades undertake – ASHER, or Active Shooter Hostile Environment Response – was needed here.

The Berkenhoff Lodge showed up online as permanently closed. RNZ was unable to contact the operators.

Source RNZ

Latest News

Police say person who fired gun at officers still at large

Published

3 days ago

November 12, 2026

News Staff

Police say a person who fired a gun at officers in Napier is still at large.

Eastern District Commander Superintendent Joel Lamb said Police tried to stop a vehicle in the Pirimai Area at about 10pm on Tuesday.

He said someone in the back seat pointed what was presumed to be a firearm at officers pursuing the vehicle.

“Staff have then heard two distinct gunshots as the firearm was discharged.

“Fortunately, neither of our officers were injured, and the patrol vehicle did not sustain any damage.”

He said hours later, the vehicle was seen travelling north on the Waikato Expressway towards Auckland.

Police seized the vehicle at an address in Manurewa, but they had not found the alleged offender.

Lamb said people who lived at the Manurewa address were engaging with Police.

He said Eastern District and Counties Manukau Police were making enquiries.

“Presenting a firearm at a Police officer is a serious escalation that puts our staff and the wider community at risk. This behaviour is entirely unacceptable.

“We are taking this incident extremely seriously and will be pursuing all lines of enquiry to locate the offender and hold them accountable.”

Police asked anyone who witnessed the incident to contact Police on 105 or online using the reference number 261111/3764.

Information could also be provided anonymously via Crime Stoppers on 0800 555 111.

rnz

Latest News

New Zealand sides named for RLWC finals

Published

4 days ago

November 11, 2026

News Staff

The players tasked with ending Australia’s Rugby League World Cup dominance have been named.

The Kiwis and Kiwi Ferns have announced their squads for this Sunday’s World Cup finals in Brisbane.

Both sides are chasing their first titles since 2008, and both are looking to end their opponents run of three crowns in a row.

“Our Kiwi Ferns have been so dominant in years gone by, and we want to bring dominance back to this jersey, so I think it will be a case of who wants it more,” said co-captain Georgia Hale of the impending clash.

The Kiwis get a major boost for the final as they welcome back Ronaldo Mulitalo after he served a one-match ban for a high tackle against Fiji Bati.

Mulitalo replaces Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, who moves to the six-man bench, which again includes utility Te Maire Martin, middle forwards Naufahu Whyte, Erin Clark and Xavier Willison plus fullback Keano Kini.

Loose forward Joseph Tapine will make his 30th Test appearance in a familiar pack again, including second-rowers Isaiah Papali’i and Briton Nikora, and props James Fisher-Harris and Moses Leota.

Winger Jamayne Isaako is on the cusp of claiming the New Zealand record for most Test points.

His five goals against Tonga lifted his career points tally to 225 – level with Shaun Johnson – while centre Casey McLean goes into the final with 16 tries in just eight Tests.

Fisher-Harris will again captain the team.

Fullback Ponga said the goal of the group was clear.

“We have high expectations around what we want to achieve, and obviously winning a world Cup is one of them.”

Meanwhile, Ricky Henry has selected a settled side to take on the Jillaroos, led by their lethal centre combination of Stacey Waaka and Mele Hufanga.

Veteran Apii Nicholls takes the number one jersey, Leianne Tufuga and Mackenzie Wiki on the wings.

Henry has stuck with his halves pairing of Chantay Kiria-Ratu and Raecene McGregor with Alexis Tauaneai, Georgia Hale and Otesa Pule up front.

Rounding out the starting pack is Shaniece Monschau, Kaiyah Atai, and Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa.

“We have been building well throughout the tournament; we understand the Jillaroos side, and will give it our all to make New Zealand proud this weekend,” said Henry.

RLWC Finals:

Kiwi Ferns vs Jillaroos- 6.10pm

Kiwis vs Kangaroos – 9.35pm

Sunday November 15

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Live blog updates on RNZ

Kiwi Ferns:

1. Apii Nicholls 2. Leianne Tufuga 3. Mele Hufanga 4. Stacey Waaka 5. Mackenzie Wiki 6. Chantay Kiria-Ratu 7. Raecene McGregor 8. Alexis Tauaneai 9. Georgia Hale 10. Otesa Pule 11. Shaniece Monschau 12. Kaiyah Atai 13. Angelina Teakaraanga-Katoa.

Interchange: 14. Ashleigh Quinlan 15. Annessa Biddle 16. Shannon Mato 17. Ivana Lauitiiti.

Reserves: 18. Brooke Anderson 19. Zahara Temara 20. Brianna Clark 21. Abigail Roache 22. Tenika Willison.

Kiwis:

1. Kalyn Ponga, 2. Jamayne Isaako, 3. Dane Gagai, 4. Casey McLean, 5. Ronaldo Mulitalo, 6. Kodi Nikorima, 7. Jahrome Hughes, 8. James Fisher-Harris (c), 9. Jeremy Marshall-King, 10. Moses Leota, 11. Isaiah Papali’i, 12. Briton Nikora, 13. Joseph Tapine (v/c).

Interchange: 14. Te Maire Martin, 15. Naufahu Whyte, 16. Erin Clark, 17. Xavier Willison.

Reserves: 18. Keano Kini, 19. Phoenix Crossland, 20. Charnze Nicoll-Klokstad, 21. Scott Sorensen, 22. Leo Thompson.

rnz

Latest News

Opportunities to mitigate multi-million-dollar RNZ budget blowout likely missed – experts

Published

5 days ago

November 10, 2026

News Staff

Multiple opportunities to identify and mitigate a multi-million-dollar budget blowout at RNZ appear have been missed, according to the former executive director at Audit New Zealand.

The public broadcaster on Monday revealed a near $12 million shock financial loss after a litany of financial blunders, which will now lead to sweeping job cuts.

The $11.8m loss is more than 25 times the $470,000 RNZ had expected to lose over the year to June.

CEO Paul Thompson took responsibility for the result, and said internal reports gave an inaccurate picture of the finances, meaning the scale of the loss only became clear in October.

RNZ’s former chief financial officer Hilary Parker resigned unexpectedly in early October.

The board said it would commission an independent review into what went wrong.

Independent contractor Stephen Walker, who left the Audit Office earlier this year, said the size of the loss was surprising, as was the length of time it took to identify it – months after the financial year ended.

“Probably more of a concern is that they had seemingly been unaware that they were running up a significant deficit until they were in the preparation stage of their annual report in October.”

Walker said public entities typically produced monthly financial reports.

An interim audit also took place before the end of the financial year, he said, but if the organisation hadn’t identified significant losses at that stage, the auditor could also be in the dark.

“It seems that there’s a real weakness in forecasting and budgeting that’s occurred here and that the monthly accounts, when they’re produced, either haven’t identified these significant variances against budget or the magnitude of them really hasn’t come to light until right towards the end of the financial year,” Walker said.

“And really at that point, there’s no opportunity for the chief executive, the leadership team to take, and the board to take, any corrective action because the year has effectively been completed.”

Walker said the “significant miss” was difficult to account for given it was more than 10 percent of RNZ’s total funding.

He said based on RNZ’s annual report, financial complexity didn’t appear to be a factor.

“This $11.8m loss isn’t made up of one particular item … it seems to have been contributed to by a number of separate expense lines running over budget. So I don’t think it’s necessarily to do with complexity.”

Among the errors, RNZ wrongly counted $2m from land sales as income in its budget. Staff costs also came in $3.2m over budget, including $1.4m in redundancy payments.

Professor at Auckland University’s business school Norman Wong said based on media reports the issues identified were “significant and troubling”.

“But recognising the sale of land as income in their budget is a basic error that one would have expected to have been caught and corrected well before it got to this point.”

With funding reductions at RNZ over the past two years, Walker expected greater scrutiny of financial results.

“Virtually every public entity has had their annual budget reduced. And so you would expect … the leadership team on a monthly basis and board – I’m not sure how frequently the board will consider the information – but you would expect them to be interrogating the results on a regular basis throughout the year,” he said.

Walker said initiating an independent review was the correct course of action and that he’d want to understand what information the leadership team and the board were regularly receiving.

He said he’d “love to say” surprising financial results were rare, but conceded they occured on a semi-frequent basis during his time leading the Audit Office.

“The benefit of independent scrutiny by the Audit Office – and the auditors providing that support to the Auditor General – [is] that the reporting is fairly presented at the end of the year, whether it’s good, bad or ugly.”

rnz