Whanganui residents are desperate to know whether a century-old heritage building that's been extensively damaged by fire can be saved.
The 110-year-old Thain Building was significantly damaged on Saturday night, leaving two people in hospital. One 42-year-old man is still in a critical condition.
Helen Craig from the Whanganui Regional Heritage Trust says work will be done to determine its fate.
"At this stage the council has to assess the strength of the building, hoping that the structure is still sound and we can save at least that exterior."
Whanganui Mayor Hamish McDouall told Newshub the fire will cause a lot of distress across the community.
"These buildings really do seem like characters of the city... we all have our favourite heritage buildings in Whanganui and we've lived with them all our lives and so when one is destroyed or damaged then it really does hit your very hard."
Craig says the council is looking at ways it can help the devastated owner.
"He's a great supporter of heritage and arts in Whanganui. He'd only bought the building within the last year and has been doing a lot of work to bring it up to a standard where he could put tenants in."
Newshub.
