After three of the most difficult trading years in his company’s 20-year history, Mr. Frew was awakened yesterday by a call from his landlord’s son, Mike Cooper, who was in Wellington informing him that his restaurant building was on fire.
About 45 volunteer firefighters from Queenstown, Frankton and Arrowtown, along with a commando unit from Alexandra, spent hours battling the blaze at one of the resort’s most iconic heritage buildings.
Designed by noted architect FW Burwell, the Heritage New Zealand Category 2 listed schist building – initially home to Queenstown’s Lake County Council chambers – opened in 1881.
It was purchased in 1999 by former mayor Warren Cooper and Speight’s opened soon after.
Mr Kuiper could not be reached for comment yesterday afternoon.
Terry O’Connell, Queenstown’s Chief Fire Officer, said Fire and Emergency New Zealand was first alerted around 7am when a private fire alarm was activated.
While saying that on arrival firefighters discovered a “very serious fire” in the building’s kitchen that had gone through the ductwork and into the roof space, Mr Frew said the origin and cause of the fire had not yet been determined by investigators, who were on site. the scene yesterday afternoon.
No one was in Speight’s when the fire started, he said.
“They figured it out pretty quickly – it was difficult, because it’s an old building and it’s a bit of a rabbit hole upstairs; there are a few false ceilings, so it wasn’t the easiest thing to get out of.
“But they managed to get it in and get it out before it spread to one of the buildings next door… so well contained and well executed by the fire department, I should say,” Mr Frew said.
CFO O’Connell said it had proved “fairly difficult” to get into the roof space as access had been gained from an angle overlooking Ballarat St before the fire gradually attacked from above.
“That was a bit of a challenge, because the roof has been well involved,” he said.
Smoke billowing from under the eaves could be seen in the Queenstown CBD early yesterday morning. The fire brigade was under control around 09:00, but the fire brigade remained on site for hours.
Stanley St, between Coronation Dr and Shotover St, and Ballarat St, between Henry St and Camp St, were closed until about noon while firefighters put out the blaze.
Mr O’Connell said there was “significant damage” to the roof and kitchen of Speight’s Ale House, but the fire did not reach neighboring office buildings and apartments, which are part of the same complex.
However, it is not clear whether any of the buildings suffered smoke damage.
Destination Queenstown chief executive Mat Woods said he had not been to his offices – which are partially above Speight’s – yesterday to check for such damage.
Mr Frew had not been able to see the aftermath with his own eyes yesterday either, but the fire service informed him that the damage was “extensive”.
Until he had access to the damage, he couldn’t say how long it would take for the iconic restaurant and bar to reopen to the public.
He was fully insured and believed that business interruption insurance had an employee component that he could access to help his staff.
Although the situation was not ideal, Mr. Frew tried to remain optimistic yesterday.
“It happened, so we have to try to deal with it the best we can.
“I’ve had, as you can imagine, half a million texts and calls since this morning, which is great, everyone reaching out to share their thoughts and wishes.
“A swarm of locusts is the only thing we haven’t had… Brace yourselves.”