Clothes left too close to the heater caused fire in Kaiti home

A fire that badly damaged a home in De Lautour Road on Tuesday morning was most probably caused by clothing left too close to a heater.                              Picture by Liam Clayton

The fire that extensively damaged a residence in De Lautour Road in Kaiti on Tuesday morning was most likely caused by clothing and bedding left too close to a heater.

The woman living there suffered smoke inhalation — described as minor by ambulance officers — and was taken to hospital for treatment.

One of the two adjoining residences on the property was well involved in fire when the first Fire and Emergency NZ crew arrived.

A specialist fire investigator called in to establish the cause said the fire started in the lounge, “where clothing and bedding had been left too close to a heater”.

“All the indications are that’s how the fire started,” he said.

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The lounge room area and entranceway to the residence were extensively fire damaged, with bad smoke damage to two bedrooms.

“The fire crews involved got right in there and did a really good job in containing the fire.

“A fire wall between the two residences stopped the fire from spreading next door.”

The specialist investigator said the fire illustrated the risks associated with leaving flammable items like clothing too close to a heat source.

“Nothing closer than a metre to the heater, or any other heat source, is the message.”