Fire Service: Four deaths in five days 'preventable'

File photo / NZ Herald

The deaths of four people in house fires across the country in the past five days could have been prevented, the Fire Service says.

The latest was the death of a person early this morning in a blaze in Shannon, near Levin.

On Monday, a man in his 70s died in a townhouse fire in Wanganui and a 43-year-old woman died in a house fire in Papatoetoe, south Auckland.

Sickness beneficiary Pete Johnstone died in a blaze in his Otahuhu home on Saturday after he was believed to have tried to rescue his kittens.

Fire investigation national manager Peter Wilding told NZPA today it was unusual to have four deaths in such a short period of time, and it was a tragedy.

Fire safety officers believe all four deaths could have been prevented, especially that of Mr Johnstone, who was overcome by smoke as he re-entered his home.

"Fire Service finds it incredibly frustrating because it did not need to happen. We see it over and over again," Mr Wilding said.

"Most people die from the smoke and the fumes that are produced in the modern house from all the furnishing and the plastics - it's incredibly toxic - and you can be overcome with that when you are still a long way from any flames.

"If you re-enter a building, which is on fire, you are taking your life in your hands. It's a risk that's just not worth taking."

Mr Wilding said two fires were believed to be due to the recent cold snap, relating to either candles or heating, and an electric appliance was thought to have been the cause for the other.

He would not give any more details about the fires because investigations were still under way.

But he said three of the four homes did not have a smoke alarm.

"The simple use of smoke detectors is an insurance that you can't afford not to have.

"They give the early warning and there is absolutely no doubt that they save lives. As much as it's an old message, if we ignore it people will die."

As for the heaters, the Fire Service had a common message: "The metre-heater rule," Mr Wilding said.

"Keep combustibles at least a metre from the heater, and yet people drape things over the heater thinking they'll just wait until it heats a bit. The phone will go off or they go to sleep and we find that we end up with a structure fire.

"It's incredibly common in New Zealand."

Since July 1 there have been seven preventable deaths, including the latest four. Twenty people died in the 2009 year, from July 1 2009 to June 30 2010, while 16 died in the 2008 year.

"When you have an accident which is unforeseeable, one can understand, that's the risk of living, but when it's due to poor practice, it's frustrating," Mr Wilding said.

- NZPA