Hundreds of people gathered on Friday for the funeral of a popular figure on Wellington's streets - the man known as Mike the Juggler.
Michael Wahrlich was one of those killed last week in the Loafers Lodge fire.
Family and friends remembered him as an entertaining character, who knew how to make everyone smile.
Mike's friend Sarah told Newshub it was fitting there was a bouquet of tennis balls - synonymous with Mike.
"The more tennis balls, the better. He used to say 'throw me one Sarah, throw me one - see if I catch it'," she said of Mike.
The 67-year-old busker was a Wellington institution, who spent 30 years entertaining from the footpath after he lost his lawn-mowing job at the council.
"Rest well my brother, knowing you are not here anymore is going to hurt so much," said Mike's sister Margaret Wahrlich.
Michael was killed last Tuesday when a fire tore through Loafers Lodge.
He was one of at least five people known to have died in the blaze.
A week ago a man was charged with arson, and on Friday Police continued their scene investigation, near where a makeshift memorial to the victims has been created.
Wellington's mayor, the director of Loafers Lodge, and police all attended Mike's funeral, as family and friends explained just how special he was.
"Michael was a cool dude and a cute man," Margaret said.
"He never hurt a fly, he couldn't hurt nobody. He's got a heart of gold," said one man paying tribute.
"Please lie at rest, and I love you heaps," one woman said.
Others shared memories.
"He used to stay at my house quite regularly, and we used to play Monopoly, gin rummy, and poker," said a third person.
"He told me he had this real dangerous job. He said it was dangerous because he had this flymo and he used to have a rope, and he used to swing the flymo," a fourth said.
Musical tributes including a harmonica piece and waiata also filled the room, while a promise was made.
"I knew Mike and I want to make sure that we have a better place for New Zealand and for us and our whānau," said Richard London, building performance manager at the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE).
"We will be thinking about that and he'll be top of mind when I start having discussions with other officials about what we do about this; how do we make buildings safer. So to your family, that's my promise to you," he told mourners.
A promise to try and avoid a tragedy like this from happening ever again, as one well-known Wellingtonian is laid to rest.
