Warning to be careful with winter fires

Some people buying smoke alarms are not installing them properly, says Bay of Plenty coast area fire risk management officer Bill Rackham. Photo / John Borren

After a busy summer for local firefighters, a senior Tauranga fire safety officer is urging Bay residents to take extreme care when lighting fires and using heating appliances this winter.

Bay of Plenty/Coast Area fire risk management officer Bill Rackham is urging residents to do some simple pre-winter checks before the cooler weather sets in.

Residents should ensure fireplaces, chimneys, heaters and electric blankets are all checked before use, preferably by an approved service agent or certified tradesperson, he said.

Everyone should also regularly check working smoke alarms have been installed correctly in homes.

"Working smoke alarms are a must as they provide an early warning of a fire and maximise the escape time when a fire does occur," he said.

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Last month members of a Maketu family were woken early in the morning by a smoke alarm after a fire in a bedroom ripped through their home.

Firefighters and the family credit the working smoke alarm with saving their lives.

In March a family of three scrambled barefoot to safety over a neighbour's two-metre-high fence in Mount Maunganui after flames engulfed a rented Housing New Zealand house.

Smoke alarms were fitted in the house but it was believed the batteries had been removed.

Last October a fire ripped through a home in 19th Avenue after cooking was left unattended, causing significant damage - the house had no smoke alarms.

Mr Rickham said some people buying smoke alarms were not always installing them properly or replacing the batteries.

The Fire Service says 25 per cent of fires start in the kitchen, and unattended cooking accounted for 21 structure fires in the Tauranga/Western Bay of Plenty area last year. Another 12 fires were the result of a heat source being too close to combustibles. Firefighters had attended 48 fire-related incidents in the Tauranga and Papamoa area between Christmas Day and April 30, of which 24 were structure fires. That was 26 fewer fire callouts than the previous summer season.

Western Bay Moana Rural Fire Authority principal rural fire officer Alan Pearce said the authority attended more than 40 fires during the restricted fire season from October 1 to April 30. Some people still ignored the requirement to obtain a permit and had been charged with the cost of extinguishing their non-permitted fires.

He declined to reveal how many people were charged other than to say it was a "relatively low number", nor would he say what the total bill was.

Mr Pearce said a year-round restricted fire season remained in force on Matakana and Rangiwaea Islands, and residents and visitors required a permit for all open-air fires on either island.

A total fire ban remained in place on Mayor Island (Tuhua).

Mr Pearce urged people to use common sense when lighting fires this winter, and in the case of outdoor fires on their property to notify fire authorities, to prevent unnecessary callouts. Landowners were also urged to advise neighbours before burning began.

"If in doubt - don't burn, or put it out," he said.