Flames seen in the top storey of the Loafers Lodge building in Adelaide Road, Newtown, Wellington. Photo: Supplied / Axel Dann
A fire engineer, who has studied short term residential accommodation, says they are four times riskier than houses.Dr Geoff Thomas's 2014 national study looked into housing similar to the 92 room Loafers Lodge in Wellington, which was destroyed by fire overnight, killing at least six people.Dr Thomas says the the lodge was not required by law to have sprinklers, but his study found low quality, unsprinklered hotel and backpacker accommodation have the highest fire fatality risk.
