Te Puke woman’s warning follows campervan fire

The fire-damaged stove in Clare Cooper's campervan. Photo / Supplied

This is not a pity-me story — it’s a warning.

Te Puke’s Clare Cooper has not only temporarily lost her campervan, she has temporarily lost her home.

Last week her campervan was badly damaged by fire — and had it not been for a smoke alarm, the bad news could have been much worse.

Clare says after cooking tea and washing the dishes in the campervan she lives in at her daughter’s place, she went outside.

“It’s quite a long property and I was at the house getting the washing in and I heard the smoke alarm,” she says.

She raced back to the campervan and the stove was on fire.

“I grabbed the little fire extinguisher and used it, but it didn’t put it out — luckily, [daughter] Lizzie has got a bigger one and put it out.”

She says she doesn’t know what might have happened if there had been no smoke alarm or the larger extinguisher hadn’t been on hand.

“It’s parked by their big shed and stables and we are out at Waitangi so I’m not sure how long before the fire brigade would have got there — so how serious could it have been?”

She says her daughter, who is a volunteer firefighter, and daughter’s partner Chris Heath are heroes.

“When I bought the motorhome ... Chris fitted the smoke alarm and without Lizzie there it would have gone up in flames.”

She says she wants her experience to be a warning to others with caravans and campervans

“Already I’ve spoken to a lady who said ‘my goodness, we took our smoke alarm out because it was rattling around and it was a pain, I’m going home to put it in again’.

“If that’s one person that’s said that, then how many other people aren’t aware that smoke alarms and fire extinguishers save lives?”

Clare says she would hate anyone to go through what she has experienced.

She was due to go away in the campervan last week. After the fire that was impossible.

“But I am alive.”

Clare says she doesn’t know how the fire started, but is certain the stove was off before she put the ceramic lid on it.

The campervan is now being assessed by Clare’s insurance company, with insurance something else she would recommend.

Te Puke Volunteer Fire Brigade chief fire officer Glenn Williams says it makes sense to have a fire extinguisher and smoke alarm in caravans and campervans “but I’m sure a lot of people don’t”.

“From our point of view we would always recommend that people who are camping in caravans or campervans have a smoke alarm and an extinguisher.”

He says it would also be worthwhile having a fire blanket.

As well as fire, there is potential danger from fumes from material such as plastic burning, he says.

“If a fire gets going in a caravan it can move very quickly and ... you don’t want to be stuck in there with a raging fire.

“Unless you are in a position to extinguish it very, very quickly, the best thing you can do is get out .”