Fire and emergency services will revisit remains of iconic Wellington heritage building after massive fire

Fire and emergency crews will visit what remains of an iconic Wellington building on Wednesday morning after a fire devastated the villa.

On Tuesday night the heritage building on Abel Smith Street went up in flames and ten crews rushed to extinguish the fire. At its peak around 60 people were on site fighting the blaze which was put out later that evening.

Fire and emergency will revisit the site at 7am to determine if it is safe to enter. A spokesperson said they are still working to determine if anyone was inside the villa when it caught fire.

The cause of the fire remains unknown. 

The house at 128 Abel Smith St has had an interesting history since it was constructed in 1898.

It was first used as a home, then a private hospital, a society headquarters and is now a community centre and the Radical Social Centre and Community Whare.

The house was also raided by armed police in October 2007 as part of the Urewera Raids.