MAKETU - The Fire Service says it believes a free smoke alarm installed in a Bay of Plenty house during a community project was removed before a fire that killed a man and his baby son.
Robert James Parapata, aged 25, and eight-month-old Honui Furious Parapata died last Friday after an incorrectly installed firebox started a fire in their two-bedroom house at Maketu, 15km northeast of Te Puke.
"Due to the size of the house and the proximity of the father's body to the reported smoke alarm location, on-going investigation has led the Fire Service to believe that the smoke alarm may have been removed," says the regional fire commander, Jim Stephens.
Nearly a third of all smoke alarms did not work because the battery was either removed or not connected properly or the alarm had not been maintained, Mr Stephens said.
"Another major concern is the removal of the battery or smoke alarm itself because of nuisance alarms caused by cooking or steam."
Mr Stephens recommended that people should move alarms around their homes until they found a suitable spot.
- NZPA
No sign of fire alarm
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