Wellington Region

Police are still unable to give a definite death toll from the Loafers Lodge fire, but have confirmed that five bodies have been found. Watch the latest update from police here.

A 111 team leader and firefighters' union Wellington president say call-takers were short staffed the night of the fatal Loafers Lodge fire - and they're struggling with feeling they should have done…

Raymond Lauder says he had an uneasy feeling when he came across a couch fire on Monday night, ahead of the fatal blaze.

The fire engineering sector says a review of fire engineering legislation is urgently needed.

A man has been arrested and charged in relation to the fatal fire at Loafers Lodge in Wellington's Newtown on Monday night.

If two of the country's largest fire trucks had got to the Loafers Lodge blaze, and sooner, they could have got more water on, a senior firefighter says .

Police expect to recover further bodies from the building on Friday.

Fire and Emergency's chief executive has spoken to media about concerns over the organisation's equipment in the wake of the hostel fire on Tuesday.

They have been recording all the problems with a fire truck with a long ladder that has spent just 45 days in operation in almost three years.

Residents of the Wellington hostel are struggling to piece their lives back together as they come to grips with losing everything in Tuesday morning's blaze.

The fatal fire at Loafers Lodge is being treated as arson, and Police Inspector Dion Bennett says due to that, it is also a homicide inquiry.

Loafers Lodge Greg Mein says himself, the management, the family of the owner - "everyone" - is "gutted" by the fire.

Fire and Emergency have handed the scene of the Loafers Lodge fire over to police, who say they are treating it as suspicious.

A fire engineer who has studied boarding house risks says the safety rules are too slack and need tightening. Audio

Local agencies are assisting dozens of people made homeless by the fire at Loafers Lodge in Newtown.

Up to 10 people are dead after a devastating fire ripped through Loafers Lodge in Wellington in the early hours. Here is what we know so far.

Investigations are underway into what went wrong in evacuating Wellington's Loafers Lodge last night.

Wellington's mayor Tory Whanau says thousands of dollars have already been raised to support those affected by the Loafers Lodge inferno. Follow the latest developments here

Tory Whanau wants emergency personnel upset by what they saw inside Loafers Lodge to know they saved "so many people".