Editorial: Be fire wise and save a life

Back in 2011 we wrote that "Like a wisp of smoke, Northland's lifesaving smoke alarm programme Te Kotahitanga has quietly disappeared".

There have been two fires in three days this week, thankfully no one has died but it gives cause to reflect on how lucky we have been to have not had a fatal house fire.

As winter bites, the risk of fire is high. Why then do we not still have the Te Kotahitanga programme?

It was started after 12 Northlanders, including nine children, died in fires from 1997 to 2001.

Free smoke alarms were installed in thousands of Northland homes. With it came an education programme; fire education continues but do the batteries in those smoke alarms still work? It is difficult to quantify how many lives Te Kotahitanga has saved directly and indirectly.

An Advocate staff member had his life saved by a smoke alarm. It was not a Te Kotahitanga smoke alarm, but there are many Northlanders like him who were not direct beneficiaries of the programme, but perhaps had their safety instincts heightened by the programme's publicity.

Fire is an indiscriminate catastrophe. If it can, it will destroy everything in its path.

We are barely halfway through winter and at least three homes have been destroyed - two this week.

Te Kotahitanga did not eradicate fire deaths. The risk remains, and in the absence of a high-profile campaign, perhaps it's time to pause and reflect on the importance of a smoke alarm (and a healthy battery). Share your safety knowledge or concerns - it might just save a life.