NZ Herald
  • Home
  • Latest news
  • Herald NOW
  • Video
  • New Zealand
  • Sport
  • World
  • Business
  • Entertainment
  • Podcasts
  • Quizzes
  • Opinion
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Viva
  • Weather

Subscriptions

  • Herald Premium
  • Viva Premium
  • The Listener
  • BusinessDesk

Sections

  • Latest news
  • New Zealand
    • All New Zealand
    • Crime
    • Politics
    • Education
    • Open Justice
    • Scam Update
    • The Great NZ Road Trip
  • Herald NOW
  • On The Up
  • World
    • All World
    • Australia
    • Asia
    • UK
    • United States
    • Middle East
    • Europe
    • Pacific
  • Business
    • All Business
    • MarketsSharesCurrencyCommoditiesStock TakesCrypto
    • Markets with Madison
    • Media Insider
    • Business analysis
    • Personal financeKiwiSaverInterest ratesTaxInvestment
    • EconomyInflationGDPOfficial cash rateEmployment
    • Small business
    • Business reportsMood of the BoardroomProject AucklandSustainable business and financeCapital markets reportAgribusiness reportInfrastructure reportDynamic business
    • Deloitte Top 200 Awards
    • Deloitte Fast 50
    • Generate wealth weekly
    • CompaniesAged CareAgribusinessAirlinesBanking and financeConstructionEnergyFreight and logisticsHealthcareManufacturingMedia and MarketingRetailTelecommunicationsTourism
  • Opinion
    • All Opinion
    • Analysis
    • Editorials
    • Business analysis
    • Premium opinion
    • Letters to the editor
  • Politics
  • Sport
    • All Sport
    • OlympicsParalympics
    • RugbySuper RugbyNPCAll BlacksBlack FernsRugby sevensSchool rugby
    • CricketBlack CapsWhite Ferns
    • Racing
    • NetballSilver Ferns
    • LeagueWarriorsNRL
    • FootballWellington PhoenixAuckland FCAll WhitesFootball FernsEnglish Premier League
    • GolfNZ Open
    • MotorsportFormula 1
    • Boxing
    • UFC
    • BasketballNBABreakersTall BlacksTall Ferns
    • Tennis
    • Cycling
    • Athletics
    • SailingAmerica's CupSailGP
    • Rowing
  • Lifestyle
    • All Lifestyle
    • Viva - Food, fashion & beauty
    • Society Insider
    • Royals
    • Sex & relationships
    • Food & drinkRecipesRecipe collectionsRestaurant reviewsRestaurant bookings
    • Health & wellbeing
    • Fashion & beauty
    • Pets & animals
    • The Selection - Shop the trendsShop fashionShop beautyShop entertainmentShop giftsShop home & living
    • Milford's Investing Place
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • TV
    • MoviesMovie reviews
    • MusicMusic reviews
    • BooksBook reviews
    • Culture
    • ReviewsBook reviewsMovie reviewsMusic reviewsRestaurant reviews
  • Travel
    • All Travel
    • News
    • New ZealandNorthlandAucklandWellingtonCanterburyOtago / QueenstownNelson-TasmanBest NZ beaches
    • International travelAustraliaPacific IslandsEuropeUKUSAAfricaAsia
    • Rail holidays
    • Cruise holidays
    • Ski holidays
    • Luxury travel
    • Adventure travel
  • Kāhu Māori news
  • Environment
    • All Environment
    • Our Green Future
  • Talanoa Pacific news
  • Property
    • All Property
    • Property Insider
    • Interest rates tracker
    • Residential property listings
    • Commercial property listings
  • Health
  • Technology
    • All Technology
    • AI
    • Social media
  • Rural
    • All Rural
    • Dairy farming
    • Sheep & beef farming
    • Horticulture
    • Animal health
    • Rural business
    • Rural life
    • Rural technology
    • Opinion
    • Audio & podcasts
  • Weather forecasts
    • All Weather forecasts
    • Kaitaia
    • Whangārei
    • Dargaville
    • Auckland
    • Thames
    • Tauranga
    • Hamilton
    • Whakatāne
    • Rotorua
    • Tokoroa
    • Te Kuiti
    • Taumaranui
    • Taupō
    • Gisborne
    • New Plymouth
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Dannevirke
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Levin
    • Paraparaumu
    • Masterton
    • Wellington
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Blenheim
    • Westport
    • Reefton
    • Kaikōura
    • Greymouth
    • Hokitika
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
    • Wānaka
    • Oamaru
    • Queenstown
    • Dunedin
    • Gore
    • Invercargill
  • Meet the journalists
  • Promotions & competitions
  • OneRoof property listings
  • Driven car news

Puzzles & Quizzes

  • Puzzles
    • All Puzzles
    • Sudoku
    • Code Cracker
    • Crosswords
    • Cryptic crossword
    • Wordsearch
  • Quizzes
    • All Quizzes
    • Morning quiz
    • Afternoon quiz
    • Sports quiz

Regions

  • Northland
    • All Northland
    • Far North
    • Kaitaia
    • Kerikeri
    • Kaikohe
    • Bay of Islands
    • Whangarei
    • Dargaville
    • Kaipara
    • Mangawhai
  • Auckland
  • Waikato
    • All Waikato
    • Hamilton
    • Coromandel & Hauraki
    • Matamata & Piako
    • Cambridge
    • Te Awamutu
    • Tokoroa & South Waikato
    • Taupō & Tūrangi
  • Bay of Plenty
    • All Bay of Plenty
    • Katikati
    • Tauranga
    • Mount Maunganui
    • Pāpāmoa
    • Te Puke
    • Whakatāne
  • Rotorua
  • Hawke's Bay
    • All Hawke's Bay
    • Napier
    • Hastings
    • Havelock North
    • Central Hawke's Bay
    • Wairoa
  • Taranaki
    • All Taranaki
    • Stratford
    • New Plymouth
    • Hāwera
  • Manawatū - Whanganui
    • All Manawatū - Whanganui
    • Whanganui
    • Palmerston North
    • Manawatū
    • Tararua
    • Horowhenua
  • Wellington
    • All Wellington
    • Kapiti
    • Wairarapa
    • Upper Hutt
    • Lower Hutt
  • Nelson & Tasman
    • All Nelson & Tasman
    • Motueka
    • Nelson
    • Tasman
  • Marlborough
  • West Coast
  • Canterbury
    • All Canterbury
    • Kaikōura
    • Christchurch
    • Ashburton
    • Timaru
  • Otago
    • All Otago
    • Oamaru
    • Dunedin
    • Balclutha
    • Alexandra
    • Queenstown
    • Wanaka
  • Southland
    • All Southland
    • Invercargill
    • Gore
    • Stewart Island
  • Gisborne

Media

  • Video
    • All Video
    • NZ news video
    • Herald NOW
    • Business news video
    • Politics news video
    • Sport video
    • World news video
    • Lifestyle video
    • Entertainment video
    • Travel video
    • Markets with Madison
    • Kea Kids news
  • Podcasts
    • All Podcasts
    • The Front Page
    • On the Tiles
    • Ask me Anything
    • The Little Things
  • Cartoons
  • Photo galleries
  • Today's Paper - E-editions
  • Photo sales
  • Classifieds

NZME Network

  • Advertise with NZME
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • BusinessDesk
  • Newstalk ZB
  • Sunlive
  • ZM
  • The Hits
  • Coast
  • Radio Hauraki
  • The Alternative Commentary Collective
  • Gold
  • Flava
  • iHeart Radio
  • Hokonui
  • Radio Wanaka
  • iHeartCountry New Zealand
  • Restaurant Hub
  • NZME Events

SubscribeSign In

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Home / Kahu

Northland family of nine escape house fire thanks to working smoke alarms

Jenny Ling
By Jenny Ling
Multimedia Journalist·Northern Advocate·
30 May, 2021 08:00 PM3 mins to read

Subscribe to listen

Access to Herald Premium articles require a Premium subscription. Subscribe now to listen.
Already a subscriber?  

Listening to articles is free for open-access content—explore other articles or learn more about text-to-speech.
‌
Save
    Share this article
In this clip we show you how smoke alarms work and which type offers the best protection for your home and family. Video / FENZ

Members of a Northland whānau are grateful to be alive after smoke alarms alerted them to a house fire that took hold as they slept.

The family of nine, including young children, have been left shell-shocked and homeless after their house on Tapper Crescent in Tikipunga caught fire on Saturday morning just before 8.30am.

Whangārei mother Serena Ratahi, 24, was asleep in the house with her children aged 1, 3 and 5, and five cousins in their 20s when she woke to the sound of smoke alarms and alerted everyone to the blaze.

Serena's mum Simone Benioni, who lives in Ōkaihau, got a phone call from a concerned neighbour and immediately drove south to help.

Simone Benioni and Serena Ratahi (holding the children wearing pink) have been inundated with offers of help after Ratahi's Tikipunga house caught fire on Saturday morning. Photo / Mike Dinsdale
Simone Benioni and Serena Ratahi (holding the children wearing pink) have been inundated with offers of help after Ratahi's Tikipunga house caught fire on Saturday morning. Photo / Mike Dinsdale
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.
Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"She [Serena] heard the alarm and looked to her left where her baby was sleeping and that was where the fire was," Benioni said.

"When she saw it she got up and woke everyone up.

"She was running around screaming at them to wake up.

"They managed to get a child each and run outside, then the flames were coming out the window.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"By the time the fire brigade got there, everything was ablaze."

Four fire trucks and up to 20 firefighters battled the blaze, which is believed to have broken out in the living room.

The Housing New Zealand property has been left "totally uninhabitable" a fire investigator said.

Benioni said the family had no contents insurance and have lost "everything".

Discover more

New Zealand

'Well involved' house fire at Lake Hayes Estate

02 Jun 07:14 PM
New Zealand

Family home gutted: 'I was raised in that house'

01 Jul 03:00 AM
Kahu

Whangārei residents rally to crime hui to find solutions

04 Jul 05:00 PM
New Zealand

Fire takes everything from young family, cellphone charger likely cause

29 Jul 05:00 PM

"I'm just thankful everyone made it out in time, if wasn't for smoke alarms, they wouldn't have made it out, they were all sleeping."

A family of nine managed to escape the burning house because of working smoke alarms. Photo / Michael Cunningham
A family of nine managed to escape the burning house because of working smoke alarms. Photo / Michael Cunningham

Benioni said it was her autistic son's 10th birthday on Saturday, and they were all set to gather for his birthday barbecue when she heard about the incident.

"Once I got the phone call I jumped in the car and left everything."

Fire and Emergency NZ fire investigator Gary Beer said multiple calls were received at around 8.20am.

The house was "well-involved" when firefighters arrived, he said.

It was lucky someone woke up to the smoke alarms and helped the others escape.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"It showed the worth of having smoke detectors. That gave them the time they needed to get out in time.

"Working smoke alarms have helped saved this family."

The family is currently staying in emergency housing in Whangārei.

Benioni said they have been inundated with offers of help.

Neighbours have dropped off bags of clothing, food and blankets and there have been offers of fridges, beds and mattresses.

"As the fire was still getting put out all the neighbours came over offering kai. We had everyone from the street offering to help, because we were just stunned in that moment.

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

"They were saying 'if there's anything you need just tell us', and I was like 'where do I start?'".

Beer reminded residents to have an escape plan, and take extra care with fireplaces and heaters now that it was winter.

Matches and lighters should always be kept out of reach of children, he said.

Save
    Share this article

Latest from New Zealand

Entertainment

‘Intimate, front-row seat’: Ardern film set for NZ release this month

Live
Auckland

Bodies in suitcases murder trial: Constable recalls smell from suitcases, details of storage unit items revealed

New Zealand
|Updated

Uni student critically injured after fall from Dunedin’s Castle St flat roof


Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

Advertisement
Advertise with NZME.

Latest from New Zealand

‘Intimate, front-row seat’: Ardern film set for NZ release this month
Entertainment

‘Intimate, front-row seat’: Ardern film set for NZ release this month

Ex-PM says her cousins could now 'officially stop asking her how they could see it'.

09 Sep 12:35 AM
Bodies in suitcases murder trial: Constable recalls smell from suitcases, details of storage unit items revealed
Live
Auckland

Bodies in suitcases murder trial: Constable recalls smell from suitcases, details of storage unit items revealed

09 Sep 12:35 AM
Uni student critically injured after fall from Dunedin’s Castle St flat roof
New Zealand
|Updated

Uni student critically injured after fall from Dunedin’s Castle St flat roof

09 Sep 12:33 AM


Kiwi campaign keeps on giving
Sponsored

Kiwi campaign keeps on giving

07 Sep 12:00 PM
NZ Herald
  • About NZ Herald
  • Meet the journalists
  • Newsletters
  • Classifieds
  • Help & support
  • Contact us
  • House rules
  • Privacy Policy
  • Terms of use
  • Competition terms & conditions
  • Our use of AI
Subscriber Services
  • NZ Herald e-editions
  • Daily puzzles & quizzes
  • Manage your digital subscription
  • Manage your print subscription
  • Subscribe to the NZ Herald newspaper
  • Subscribe to Herald Premium
  • Gift a subscription
  • Subscriber FAQs
  • Subscription terms & conditions
  • Promotions and subscriber benefits
NZME Network
  • The New Zealand Herald
  • The Northland Age
  • The Northern Advocate
  • Waikato Herald
  • Bay of Plenty Times
  • Rotorua Daily Post
  • Hawke's Bay Today
  • Whanganui Chronicle
  • Viva
  • NZ Listener
  • Newstalk ZB
  • BusinessDesk
  • OneRoof
  • Driven Car Guide
  • iHeart Radio
  • Restaurant Hub
NZME
  • About NZME
  • NZME careers
  • Advertise with NZME
  • Digital self-service advertising
  • Book your classified ad
  • Photo sales
  • NZME Events
  • © Copyright 2025 NZME Publishing Limited
TOP