Garage fire in Paraparaumu highlights importance of smoke alarms

Fire damage in the garage.

You've got a smoke alarm in the lounge, kitchen, hallway, bedrooms — but what about in the garage?

It's not the kind of place you'd automatically think of to install a smoke alarm.

Roslyn King, from Ross Grove, Paraparaumu, will be the first to advise that a smoke alarm in the garage is a very good idea.

A fire erupted in Roslyn's garage, which is under her house, on the day before the Covid-19 level 4 lockdown last month.

Fortunately no one was injured in the blaze but its impact has been devastating.

Fire damage.

The fire caused extensive damage and it's possible the whole house will have to be demolished.

Roslyn was home alone in the evening watching television when she first smelt smoke, prompting her to check her electric blanket.

"I'm always a bit nervous about electric blankets so I checked, and it was all right, so I thought it was just my imagination."

Later in the evening, she decided to hop into her spa pool - but any thought of a relaxing dip quickly changed.

The smell of smoke was a lot stronger, prompting her to get out of the warm water to investigate.

"I never thought it would be from my place."

With a dressing gown wrapped around her, and a cellphone in one hand, she walked around the house.

"I walked down my driveway and couldn't see any chimneys with smoke coming out but when I turned around I saw flames coming out of the garage vents.

"I dialled 111 and the fire brigade came very quickly."

While it was a nerve-racking experience, Roslyn said she was remarkably controlled, and clearly remembered fire safety advertisements on television about not going into the house.

"You don't realise how many of those fire safety ads you take on board until you live it."

Not that she would have gone inside.

"The smoke was incredibly dense and you wouldn't be able to breathe in it. It was horrid."

Fire aftermath.

After contacting emergency services she rang her daughter in Plimmerton as the enormity of what was happening sank in.

"I kept on repeating 'the house is on fire'.

"I felt a bit of an idiot going on like that."

Her husband, who was in Invercargill because of work commitments, was contacted with the grim news.

A lot was lost in the fire, including 30 years worth of catering equipment, precious photographs, a car and lots more.

"It has probably totalled the house to be honest.

"The wooden posts that support the house are all really charred as well as the beams."

While the damage was significant, it could have been a lot worse.

Fortunately when Roslyn and her husband moved into the house they put insulation between the garage and house, which stopped the fire from spreading fast.

"It was very close to taking the whole house."

And they were lucky that gas cylinders for barbecues that were in the garage didn't explode.

Bizarrely, the only thing that didn't burn in the garage was a stack of dry firewood.

"How ironic was that."

The aftermath meant the house was "full of soot".

"It's not stuff you can dust off, you have to scrub it.

"And everything stunk.

"I've never done so much washing in my life."

Roslyn, who has been the food and beverage manager at Paraparaumu Beach Golf Club for about eight months, said while there was a smoke and fire detection system in the house, there was nothing in the garage.

Roslyn King. Photo / David Haxton

"It took a long time for the smoke to actually get up into the house.

"It was actually going more towards my neighbour's house because there was quite a wind.

"It took quite some time, after I had rung 111, for the house detectors to go off."

Roslyn said a lot of people were shocked about the fire, "especially with the idea of a garage going up".

Having a smoke alarm in the garage was "absolutely important, especially if it's under your dwelling", she said.

"It's a very important message that I would like to get out."

She was very thankful to her neighbours in the cul-de-sac who had been very helpful on the night and had given ongoing support.

"It's nice to be part of community that is very caring."

Roslyn, who thinks the fire might have started from an electrical fault, said the house was insured but the contents weren't.

"But it's just stuff.

"I wasn't hurt, our two cats are alive, the fish lived, and the three chickens which were in a coop attached to the house weren't roasted.

"It's huge inconvenience though."