Fire warning: couch, clothes too close to heat source

Two potentially lethal house fires in one night in the Far North were caused by flammable material being left too close to heat sources.
Fire chiefs say the blazes could have had serious consequences if they had broken out later at night because neither home had working smoke alarms. In one case the alarms had been removed; in the other the batteries were missing.
The most serious blaze was at Opito Bay just before 10pm on Tuesday. Two fire trucks and a tanker were sent from Kerikeri, a 20-minute drive away, with fire chief Les Wasson describing it as a "bloody good save". Damage had been limited to the open-plan living/dining room.
The fire appeared to have started near an enclosed fireplace or chimney flue and spread into a ceiling cavity. The only person home at the time was a man in his 20s, who had discovered the fire when he left the study to investigate a noise. He had shut the doors behind him as left the house and called the fire brigade.
The blaze appeared to have started in drying clothing, which had been either too close to the flue or had dropped on to the fireplace.
Firefighters found mounts where smoke alarms had been installed, but the alarms had been removed.
The Kaitaia Fire Brigade had two call-outs on the same night, the first to a home in Long St in Awanui around 6.20pm.
Senior station officer Ross Beddows said the home's three occupants were "very lucky" to escape with minor burns and smoke inhalation. It appeared the fire had started after a sofa had been shifted too close to the fireplace during vacuuming earlier in the day. The heat had caused an armrest to ignite.
The occupants had called 111 then carried the burning sofa outside. In the process a man had burnt his fingers while two women suffered smoke inhalation.
Kaitaia fire chief Colin Kitchen said the home was fitted with smoke alarms but none had batteries. "If the fire had happened at night, after they'd gone to bed, the consequences could have been serious. You have have only four to six minutes to get out of a burning house, so that early warning is vital," he said.
Later that night, around 10.20pm, the Kaitaia volunteers were called out again when a man in Williams St decided to burn rubbish behind his garage. He had put the fire out when he heard the fire engines approaching.
Mr Beddows said the man was advised, "If you're going to burn rubbish, do it in the daytime."