Mediawatch The long game of investigating Loafers Lodge disaster
Years before the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents, it was foreshadowed by another fatal fire in London which wasn't adequately investigated. A journalist who has worked on that story for six years so far tells Mediawatch our media must pursue what went wrong at Loafers Lodge to prevent something worse happening elsewhere in future.
Years before the Grenfell Tower fire killed 72 residents, it was foreshadowed by another fatal fire in London which was not adequately investigated. A journalist who has worked on that story for six years so far tells Mediawatch New Zealand media must pursue what went wrong at Loafers Lodge and it could prevent something worse happening in future.
In the confusion and chaos of the Loafers Lodge fire, a local fire chief called it a "once-in-a-decade fire".
That gave some idea of the seriousness of it but still did not quite convey the horror.
It was only last Tuesday - more than a week later - that police formally released names of the first three victims.
Among them was Michael Wahrich - who was known to many Wellingtonians as Mike the Juggler.
Stuff and the capital's daily The Post reported his death before it was confirmed by police because his sister confirmed it.
That confused followers of local Facebook page Wellington Live which had posted earlier that Mike had survived the fire, which then drew angry condemnation from some users who accused the site's editors of 'role-playing' as journalists.
They weren't satisfied by administrators explaining it was an open group which members could contribute to - and the misleading post about Mike Wahrich was removed the same day it appeared.
For the news media, there is an added complication. A man has been charged with arson in relation to the fire. He behaved erratically in court where the judge ordered interim name suppression and remanded him in custody.
Any further reporting on that is effectively off limits until he appears in court again.
On Monday, The Post's Tom Hunt reported Loafers Lodge had just one working ground-floor exit after the main entrance was locked shut due to damage in the days before the fire.
We have also learned Loafers Lodge is just one of a growing network of hostels, motels and boarding houses housing some of New Zealand's most vulnerable and poorest people - but we do not even know how many there are. …