A Rotorua tourist was lucky to have woken up and warned other motel guests after an electric blanket in his motel unit caught fire.
Rotorua senior station officer Richard Anastasi said the man was very lucky to not have slept through the fire as there were no smoke
alarms in the Gibson Court Motel unit the man was sleeping in alone when the fire started about midnight last night.
"There were no smoke alarms in the units. They don't have to be in existing buildings.
"This man, luckily, woke up and got out and raised the alarm," he said.
About 15 other people had to be evacuated from nearby units during last night's fire, Mr Anastasi said.
The unit was seriously damaged by the fire. Neighbouring units were smoke damaged, Mr Anastasi said.
"Everyone was very lucky and got out safely once the alarm was raised. No one was hurt. It only took a couple of minutes to bring the fire under control," he said.
Motel owner May Ryan said she was pleased that everyone got out of the motel safely. Smoke alarms had been used in the motel rooms before, but they had been removed as they went off too often when there was not a fire. "They were a bloody nuisance," Mrs Ryan said.
However, she was now looking at re-installing smoke alarms, but placing them in a position where things such as burned toast would not activate them.
Mrs Ryan said the guests in the motel would be found new accommodation today, so that a safety check could be done of the motel's electric blankets.
Meanwhile, people should not sleep with electric blankets on, Mr Anastasi said.
"They should be turned off and they should be checked regularly to make sure they are in good working order."
It's the second holiday accommodation establishment in Rotorua to be involved in a fire this year. After a fire at the Rotorua Thermal Holiday Park in March caused by a discarded cigarette, owners paid $20,000 to install smoke detectors in units and building at the Old Taupo Rd camping ground.
Existing accommodation building are not required to have or install smoke warning devices unless they do any alterations to the buildings.
However, Rotorua fire officers were actively campaigning to get owners to install smoke alarms, Mr Anastasi said.
"They save lives," he said.
A Rotorua tourist was lucky to have woken up and warned other motel guests after an electric blanket in his motel unit caught fire.
Rotorua senior station officer Richard Anastasi said the man was very lucky to not have slept through the fire as there were no smoke
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