On October 6, a large blaze engulfed a complex of flats in Forth St, North Dunedin, damaging numerous residents’ homes and belongings.
Documents obtained by the Otago Daily Times show Fire and Emergency New Zealand was told on the night of the blaze it was caused by a lit cigarette butt in one of the flat’s bedrooms.
One of two residents who lived in the unit where the fire broke out spoke to the ODT on the condition he not be named.
He said the blaze was possibly caused by a "mistake he made" when he discarded a cigarette in his room.
The fire extensively damaged their flat and destroyed personal belongings and valuable items.
"After the fire, we were placed in temporary housing, then we moved into one of the university units. However, we had to leave after a few weeks because we weren’t students."
The residents living at the flat, who had both attended the university in the past, were helped by the proctor to secure a place to stay by the end of the year.
"The proctor helped take over someone’s lease and that’s where we are living now until the end of the year.
"They came in clutch. They said it was because we were part of the university community for a couple of years and that’s why they were so willing to help us."
Many of the affected residents of the complex did not have insurance and were in "dire need of financial support in order to help them all recover from this tragic event".
A Givealittle page was set up to help the numerous residents affected financially.
The documents showing how Fenz responded to the blaze said that about 10.20pm they were alerted to a large house fire in Forth St, North Dunedin. One appliance each from the Willowbank and Dunedin stations initially attended.
Once it became apparent the fire was "well involved", a second alarm was raised and additional engines from Roslyn and St Kilda were sent.
By 10.30pm, a large crowd of nearby residents were coming into the street to watch the blaze, prompting Fenz to send a non-urgent message for police to attend and help with crowd control. However, two minutes after, that non-urgent message became urgent as more and more people crowded the streets.
Fenz initially said the fire could have been deliberately lit, but that was later found not to be the case.
A police spokesman said police had a file relating to the fire, but it was closed. Fenz had advised it deemed the fire non-suspicious.
