A man will appear in Wellington District Court on Thursday, charged with intentionally damaging the elevator at Loafers Lodge in Wellington just weeks before a fatal May fire. Photo: RNZ / Hamish Cardwell
A 25-year-old man has been charged with intentionally damaging the elevator at Loafers Lodge in Wellington just weeks before a fatal fire.
He is due to appear in Wellington District Court on Thursday, 28 September.
The fire, which occurred on 16 May, killed five people and left a further 90 homeless.
It originated on the third floor of the building, with several residents having to be rescued from the rooftop by fire-fighters.
A 48-year-old, who has name suppression, has been charged with murder and arson, and the case will next be heard in early October.
Three councils (Auckland, Wellington and Queenstown Lakes) with the most boarding houses like Loafers Lodge in their area were recently told to improve their building warrant of fitness (WOF) systems.
The victims of the fire were Michael Wahrlich, 67, of Wellington who was known to many Wellingtonians as 'Mike the Juggler'; Melvin Joseph Parun, 68; Peter Glenn O'Sullivan, 64; Kenneth Barnard, 67; and Liam Hockings, 50.