Large Invercargill CBD building fire started by electrical device on bed

An electrical device set fire to a bed was the cause of a large fire in Invercargill that injured six people earlier this week.

Senior Fire Investigator Murray Milne-Maresca said the fire, which was accidental, began on a bed at the front of the building.

“It was caused by an electrical device, which set the bed on fire. Investigations are continuing to establish what the device was, but there is nothing suspicious about the origins of the fire.

“No further information is able to be released until the investigation has been formally concluded,” Milne-Maresca said.

Six people, understood to be staying in the building when the fire took hold, were injured in the early hours of Wednesday – one of them understood to be a 10-year-old boy who was taken to hospital in a serious condition.

Flames lit up the Invercargill night as the historic building burned.

Four businesses who worked out of the now damaged building had since moved out, and were facing uncertain futures.

On Thursday, an Invercargill City Council spokesperson said a building compliance officer had been onsite to make a safety assessment of the fire damaged building.

“We are satisfied the building has been made immediately safe with access restrictions in place and a cordon around the site.”