Smoke alarms have saved two homes in the past week and more than likely a man’s life after he fell asleep while cooking.
A retired couple almost lost the home they have lived in for half a century, when the kitchen of their five-bedroom, two-storey Nelson villa caught fire in the middle of the night while they were on holiday near Kaiteriteri last week.
A neighbour woke to the sound of all six smoke alarms going off at around 2.40am on Friday. She came outside and noticed the smell of smoke so alerted the fire brigade.
Fire crews arrived to find the kitchen ablaze but luckily they were able to save the house.
Fire and Emergency NZ (FENZ) community readiness advisor, Darren Crawford, says the home was saved because of the smoke detectors.
“Another 10 minutes and it would’ve been total destruction of the house. The result is still terrible but it could’ve been a lot worse.”
With 50 years of memories, the homeowners feel lucky to not have lost anything irreplaceable, but their journey is just beginning.
Unable to live in the home, the entire house needs deep-cleaning and most likey repainting.
As soon as you step onto the front porch, the smell of smoke hits, despite the kitchen being at the back of the home.
The homeowner says she was shocked at how much of the house had been affected.
All of the clothing from drawers and cupboards upstairs need to be professionally cleaned. The curtains all need to be sent away to a specialist. Every piece of furniture and books need cleaning.
The kitchen needs to be rebuilt and appliances all need replacing. Soot has settled on the surfaces in the other downstairs room and the heat from the fire has charred the door frames.
The couple have alternative accommodation for a month but they think it will be longer until they can move back in.
“The massive inconvenience that even a small fire like this can cause,” Darren says. “You can look at it and think ‘that’s great they saved our house’, but that’s only the beginning of the journey. So many steps need to unravel before its fit for purpose again.”
FENZ say the fire looks to have started from an external electrical source, possibly a multi-board on the kitchen bench.
“They’re well protected with smoke alarms, the fire crew from Nelson came in a couple of years ago to check the alarms and moved a few around,” Darren says.
“Unfortunately 80 per cent of the fires we attend don’t have working smoke alarms.”
Just a day before, a Stoke man was lucky to walk away with his life after falling asleep while cooking.
His kitchen also caught fire and a neighbour was once again alerted to a smoke alarm going off.
Smoke alarms alerted the neighbours in both cases, who have then called the fire brigade.
Darren says the fire brigade arrived and searched the home, pulling the man, who was still asleep, out of the house before extiguishing the fire.
FENZ’s message is clear; make sure you have working smoke alarms in you home.
“The firestations are no good to anybody if we’re not notified. There has to be a method of early warning and smoke alarms are that method,” Darren says.
Local fire brigades will come to your home and provide a free fire safety check and install smoke alarms in the correct locations. To book a visit call 0800 693 473.
