By RNZ

A convicted arsonist who lives in Wellington’s Loafers Lodge says he had an uneasy feeling when he came across a couch fire started in the hours before this week’s fatal blaze.

Raymond Lauder, 57, was in no doubt police - at one stage - considered him a suspect; but he claimed he discovered the fire and ran to alert residents and get clear of the building.

A man was arrested and charged with two counts of arson on Thursday afternoon, police said later that night. More charges may follow in relation to the deaths. Police said they were not looking for anyone else.

Lauder has lived on the fourth floor of Loafers Lodge since March.

At around 11pm on Monday he heard a fire alarm going off in the building.

Lauder said alarms went off regularly and were mostly ignored, but this night something made him uneasy.

“I had a look at the couch and as soon as I saw it I knew. I thought ‘nah’, this ain’t done, someone’s trying to burn the place down. I’m not going to sleep tonight.”

He said he headed to the third floor kitchen for a cup of coffee just after midnight. Another resident was checking the ovens, worried his cooking was the source of smoke that seemed to be building up in the room.

Lauder went into the hallway and said he was horrified at what he saw.

“I see these two rooms. It looked like there was a steam train behind the doors because it was pouring out smoke. I tried the handles, they were locked so I sprinted east, I was kicking on the doors, screaming my head off, ‘fire, fire, fire’.

“Within 10 seconds the hallway had gone from a foot of smoke to a foot of air left. You’re in big trouble if you’re in that shit,” Lauder said.

He escaped the building from the rearward doors. On the street, with nothing but the clothes on his back, he said he approached police to tell them what he had seen.

He was interviewed for several hours, and said it came as a relief when police confirmed the fire was being investigated as an intentional act.

“I lost a lot of friends, it was absolutely arson,” said Lauder. “One bedroom might catch fire but not two, and I believe they were empty rooms.”

‘I’m not surprised the place caught fire’

Lauder’s body bears the marks of a life spent in tough environments. He has spent more than a decade behind bars, and admitted one of those stretches was for arson.

He said the atmosphere inside the building reminded him of jail, with electric doors and CCTV cameras, used to catch theft that would lead to sudden eviction.

“They’d boot you out at any time and not give you your bond back. That’s why I’m not surprised the place caught fire, someone had obviously had enough,” Lauder said.

At least six people died in the blaze. The next day, Inspector Don Bennett confirmed a homicide investigation was underway. He would not comment on whether accelerants were used or if the fire had multiple ignition points.

Loafers Lodge director Greg Mien said he did not believe Lauder was registered as a guest, but Ministry of Social Development records seen by RNZ show payments being directed to the lodge for his bond and rent.

Lauder said like prison, it paid to be careful about who you associated with in the building. Many of the people he counted as friends at the hostel he knew only by first names, or with a nod or a raise of his eyebrow.

He said one missing man, Liam Hocking, lived next door to his room in number 52. He described Hocking as a gentle man, burdened by mental health issues but with “a heart of gold’.

“I was probably in contact with about 20 people on the third and fourth floor. I know I’ve lost a couple of them. [It] shouldn’t have happened.”

For now, Lauder was staying at his former partner’s home, trying to pull together some clothing and shoes with a grant from Work and Income and waiting to see what the future held.