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A 4-year-old Auckland girl who saved her mother from a fire has won an award for her bravery.
But her mother - who lit the candle which started the blaze - faces an insurance bill of more than $8000.
Natalea Greenslade awoke in her Devonport home in the early hours of June 1 to the smell of smoke and woke her mother.
The home did not have smoke alarms, and the Fire Service believes Natalea's actions saved her mother's life, as well as the lives of three adults in the house.
It has awarded Natalea a framed certificate for "bravely alerting her family to a fire".
When asked about her actions, Natalea said simply: "I just saved everybody.
"I woke my Mum and I just saved my Mum and told her that there was smoke."
Natalea's mother, Emma Greenslade, 27, a student, said the fire started after she lit a candle sitting on a bookshelf.
She said she and her flatmate thought the candles had been put out properly but a larger one, with a thick wick, continued smouldering for hours before starting the fire, which was taking hold as Natalea woke up.
The fire damaged the carpet and curtains, and caused smoke damage throughout the living area.
On Tuesday, Ms Greenslade received a letter stating that her landlord's insurance company believed she was responsible for the fire and it was seeking reimbursement.
"The estimated cost of repairs is $8232," the letter read.
Ms Greenslade said she was shocked by the cost and was surprised to learn that she could be held responsible for paying for repairs the company had carried out without consultation.
Uninsured, she thought she would have to pay an excess on her landlord's insurance until receiving the letter.
"We don't want to deny that we're responsible because obviously we lit the candle but ... we love our home, it's not like we went out to sabotage it.
"If I have to pay then I have to pay but I don't have that money. I'm a single Mum on a benefit."
Ms Greenslade said she was not angry - just shocked. "We're all healthy, we're all safe."
Auckland fire safety education officer Nella Booth said it was lucky the fire was not more devastating.
"The chances of a child waking up and alerting the rest of the family to that kind of danger are very small.
"What Natalea did was nothing short of miraculous. There was no smoke alarm - something woke her." Firefighters installed smoke alarms in Natalea's home soon after the fire.
Insurance Council chief executive Chris Ryan said the best advice he could give was for tenants to get contents insurance with liability protection.
Insurance companies could claim costs for any damage considered "negligent" even if it was accidental, such as fires caused by a candle not put out properly, or a heater left too close to curtains, he said. In June 1999, a Dunedin flat burned down when a frying pan was left unattended.
Six flatmates found themselves in court when State Insurance tried to sue them for the bill of nearly $150,000. The lawsuit was later dropped.
