Two people seriously injured after falling from roof, balcony at St Patrick's Day parties

Thursday, 17 March 2022

Emergency services help a person who had fallen from a roof of a Castle St flat earlier shut down by police.

Two Dunedin partygoers have been seriously injured after falling from buildings just hours apart.

The St Patrick's Day festivities in the city’s student quarter began on Thursday with drinking before sunrise and a couch fire by mid-morning.

Emergency services were called to Park St about 4.30pm to reports a person had fallen from a balcony. A St John spokeswoman said a person was taken to Dunedin Hospital with serious injuries.

A police spokesman said the 22-year-old man was unconscious for a “reasonable period” and transported to hospital with head injuries.

Partygoers on the roof of student flats in Dunedin, earlier in the day before someone fell and was taken to the emergency department.

* Coronavirus: Uni students hold massive flat party 200m from closed high school

A person is injured on Park St, Dunedin, on St Patrick's Day.

* Inside a chilly, six-bedroom Dunedin student flat

Police shut down a party at 601 Castle St hours before someone fell from a roof.

About two hours earlier, a 19-year-old man fell after climbing onto a roof at one of the flats at 601 Castle St.

A Stuff reporter at the scene earlier saw a dozen police officers calling for partygoers to get off the roof and leave the address.

A student drinks outside 601 Castle St before the party was shut down by police.

Police formed a line, repeating “move on” until the party was broken up.

Firefighters douse a couch fire at a Castle St address.

St John said they received a call to an incident in Castle St just after 2pm, where they transported one patient to Dunedin Hospital in a serious condition.

Police Senior Sergeant Anthony Bond said the 19-year-old suffered back injuries.

A person is loaded into an ambulance after reportedly falling from a height on Park St.

“This is a reminder that climbing on roofs at any time is risky behaviour and even more so when intoxicated.”

A witness of the fall, who asked to not be named, said there had been nearly 100 people below the roof where the man fell.

Doug Third, of St John, on the phone as he attends a job at 601 Castle St

He said two people were on the roof, and the crowd below was trying to get them to come down.

'We told them not to be heroes, it wasn't funny,' said the witness, who lived on Castle St.

A police officer outside 601 Castle St, before a party was shut down on Thursday, about midday.

'Some roofs you know are okay to be on, but everyone knew that roof wasn't safe, you can tell by looking at it.'

At mid-morning police also attended a couch fire outside a flat on Castle St, which Bond said was extremely dangerous and close to the building.

A keg is transported the old-fashioned way across the student quarter.

“Police are investigating who lit it to hold them responsible.”

Overall the behaviour was good, he said, “but unfortunately there have been a few idiots that police have had to speak to and remind them of acceptable behaviour”.

Students party on Castle St, Dunedin to celebrate St Patrick’s Day.

St John Coastal Otago area operations manager Doug Third said ambulance staff were already experiencing high workloads due to Covid.

“On top of that we've had a spate of alcohol-related incidents due to St Patrick's Day student revellers.”

Ambulance staff had been kept busy at the Brackens View lookout, where mainly first-year students had suffered injuries due to intoxication and broken glass.

Third said it was disappointing their already stretched crews had to cope with an increased workload.

Students coddle their boxes of booze at Brackens Lookout, above Lovelock Avenue in Dunedin.

“It is all alcohol related. It is all binge-drinking. It is all preventable.”

In 2021, 601B Castle St won the Worst Flat Award, as judged by Dunedin student magazine Critic Te Arohi.

The judge wrote that a hole in the roof of the flat was the selling point, however it is unclear if it is the same flat involved in the incident.

For many, celebrating St Patrick's Day was a release of pent-up frustration over a miserable start to the year, with numerous residents spending at least 10 days in isolation during the Covid outbreak that coincided with the return of thousands of students to Dunedin.

Green-clad students, including Boston Celtic fans, leprechauns and a Tellytubby, told Stuff they were frustrated with how Covid-19 had cancelled Orientation Week and weren't willing to let the Omicron variant take St Patrick's Day from them too.

Last year police reported few problems, but said the levels of intoxication continued to be significant year-on-year.

Heralded as a day of glorified binge-drinking by outsiders looking in, the young participants believed they were respecting tradition.

Some told Stuff they had travelled from Lincoln University in Canterbury to participate in the festivities.

“It's in the top three days of the year. It goes Christmas, New Years, then St Paddy's,” said a student who asked to not be named, as they had lied to their boss about having Covid-19 symptoms to get the day off.

Early birds who finished six drinks before 6am were awarded bragging rights for completing the tradition “six before six”.

A University of Otago spokeswoman said staff worked closely with police and the Otago University Students’ Association to communicate with students about social gatherings on St Patrick’s Day.

An email sent to students this week by Proctor Dave Scott reminded them of the restrictions of the Covid-19 red setting, and asked students to drink responsibly and look after themselves and others.

“Currently, our health system is stretched with our hospital and medical centres significantly under pressure with Covid-related work. Now is not the time to get injured.”

The university was aware of the earlier couch fire, and said any student found lighting a fire would face disciplinary action.