Police say the man at the centre of a stand-off at a house in Levin where there was a fire this evening is now in hospital in a critical condition.
A police cordon in residential Levin after self-harm incident led to evacuations last night. Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Firefighters this evening spent some time extinguishing a blaze at the Bledisloe Street property before entering the house and locating the man. He was taken to hospital and is in a critical conditon suffering from smoke inhalation, a police statement said.
The man's dog was also found alive and was being cared for, the statement said.
The man inside had been threatening to self-harm.
Police negotiators had spent all day trying to resolve the stand-off in Levin where 80 residents were evacuated last night, and 40 homes were provided with support.
Police said cordons would remain in place because there was still work to be done at the property to ascertain whether any items in the house posed an ongoing risk.
Until that work had been completed, cordons would remain and members of the public should continue to avoid the area, police said.
"We know that this incident has been very disruptive for those residents who were evacuated, as well as being very unsettling for the wider community," Inspector Sarah Stewart, Manawatū Area Commander said in a statement.
More information would be made available once the property had been made safe and the cordons were lifted, she said.
This afternoon, Stewart and Horowhenua Mayor Bernie Wanden provided an update about the ongoing incident in Levin.
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Eighty residents on Bledisloe Street were evacuated last night as police responded to a self-harm related incident.
The public have been asked to avoid the area, with the area between Freyberg and Cobham Streets cordoned off.
The cordons will remain until the incident is resolved.
"I understand this is distressing for residents however resolving this safely for everybody is our number one priority and we thank those affected for their cooperation," Stewart said.
Police confirmed this afternoon they attended another incident earlier this week on the same Levin street that is currently cordoned off.
Stewart said she could not give any details of the earlier incident, but said it was related.
Stewart said it was an ongoing situation.
She said the police negotiation team were highly trained and remained in communication with the person at the centre of the incident.
"We are communicating with the individual involved, we are speaking with him and very hopeful that we can all resolve this safely."
Some residents were asked to leave their homes as a precautionary measure.
"Everything we are doing is to ensure the safety of those involved."
The community would notice an increase in police staff carrying out reassurance patrols in the area, Stewart said.
"Any residents directly affected by the incident who have specific requests or concerns are asked to contact the Levin police and we will provide assistance to them."
The mayor said he wanted to reassure the community that the council was working with police and had every confidence police would deal with the matter as soon as practical.
"Our concern is for our residents, their safety and welfare. We want to continue to support them and give them any assistance that they need."
About 30 residents stayed in council-arranged accommodation overnight.
Wanden said he was pleased they were able to provide people with food, medical assistance and accommodation as needed yesterday.
"We have already set up accommodation requirements for people tonight and that will be assessed as the situation develops."
Stewart said about 80 residents were evacuated last night and 40 homes were being provided with support.
Those who had not evacuated were today asked to leave the cordoned area and to contact police if they needed assistance with this.
Police have liaised with schools in the area.
"We are taking this very seriously and have done from the beginning," Stewart said.
The mayor said the Horowhenua district had been dealing with some extraordinary events over the past few months.
"This is completely out of the norm, obviously though our community is caring, resilient, supportive of each other and look, we just want the situation resolved safely and without harm to property or people."
