Man in critical condition after falling three stories down damaged staircase in freehold Wellington building

A man is in a critical condition in hospital after falling three stories down a flight of stairs in a derelict building in earthquake-prone Wellington.

Emergency services rushed to the vacant Pringle House by Wellington’s seafront this morning after reports of people being injured due to “structural issues”.

A witness reported seeing seven ambulances, two police cars and two fire trucks outside the building.

One of those involved in the response initially said the abandoned building housed multiple offenders who were injured due to a structural issue.

FENZ Deputy Commander Martin Wilby said it was now believed that only one person was injured after falling three storeys down a staircase that had been damaged in an earlier earthquake.

He said the person was believed to have fallen last night.

Wellington Free Ambulance confirmed it had taken one person to Wellington Hospital in a moderate condition.

A spokesperson for Health New Zealand – Te Whatu Ora said the patient was in a critical condition.

Jason Dunn of Prime Property, the building’s owner, said he saw the injured man while paramedics were working on him, but did not know how old he was.

He said the man was “definitely hurt” and appeared “uncomfortable” but “lucid”.

Dunn said there has been a “significant problem” with homeless people entering the building recently.

He said that in the last 90 days they have removed and issued infringement notices to “probably 18” people.

Dunn said the company also spent “over $30,000 to $40,000” to better secure the building this year to try to keep squatters and criminals out.

The building, at 142 Wakefield St, suffered damage to its stairwells during the 2013 Seddon earthquakes.

The Greater Wellington Regional Council used to occupy the building and as a result staff were relocated.

Council President Daran Ponter previously told them Herald the problem was that the building was actually two buildings side by side.

“The two buildings slammed into each other during the earthquake, ripped out all the pipes between them, and all the water had effectively flowed between the buildings onto everyone’s computer equipment and throughout the building.”

Upon further investigation, the building was found to be prone to earthquakes, meaning it was less than 34% of the new building standard.

The deadline for building consolidation expires in 2027.

Wellington City Council spokesman Richard MacLean confirmed the council was aware of the incident and would look into it further in its capacity as the building regulator.

“Wellington City Council is interested but it’s a live situation, we’re talking to the authorities, it’s early days.”

In 2016, an unknown number of tenants were found living in Pringle House, which was owned by Prime Property Group at the time.

The company was also found to be housing a family of four, a bankrupt businessman and an illness beneficiary in a commercial building on Molesworth Street, which has since been demolished following the Kaikōura earthquake.

Prime Property Group director Eyal Aharoni previously told them Herald he was just trying to shelter the homeless.

“These are basically two buildings that we own that are completely empty, and there’s a lot of people there that don’t have a place to live, and we’re basically trying to help people.”

Aharoni said the arrangement at the Wakefield St building was more transient than at Molesworth St.

“They were coming and going, there were a few people there but I can’t tell you how many.”

He said people who stayed at Wakefield St were paying rent of about $100 a week.

The Tenancy Tribunal fined Prime Property $7520 for the lease of the Molesworth St building.

Tribunal arbitrator Rex Woodhouse noted in his decision that the tenants had been put in such a risky situation that it was “frightening”.

He said fire inspection documents showed various fire protection systems had been turned off because the supplier believed the building was vacant.

Aharoni said he regrets allowing people to stay in the properties.

He said his actions were not an isolated case and many other empty office blocks in the city were leased for residential use.

“The action against me will perhaps make landlords think twice and possibly create a further squeeze on the housing market, making it even harder to find accommodation, but MBIE has to decide what they want to do.”

In 2017, the director of the investigations and compliance team at the Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment, Steve Watson, said the Wakefield St locations were not under investigation.

“It is impossible to investigate without the cooperation of the tenants and the case was closed due to a lack of usable evidence.”

MBIE has been contacted for comment on the incident at the property this morning.

Prime Property Group director Eyal Aharoni has also been approached for comment.

Ethan Manera is a multimedia journalist based in Wellington. He joined NZME in 2023 and is interested in politics, local issues and public service. Ethan is always looking for a story and can be emailed at [email protected] or messaged on X (formerly Twitter) @ethanjmanera

Georgina Campbell is a Wellington reporter with a special interest in local government, transport and seismic issues. She joined Herald in 2019, after working as a broadcast journalist.