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The fire service is warning about the need for care during home cultural ceremonies using fire.
Fire Service education officer George Stephens said there had been a rise in household fires caused by cultural ceremonies and the service was concerned there was a relaxed attitude to fire safety.
There were many cultural activities that used fire or heat-related objects including the Pacific Island umu, Maori hangi, barbecues, braziers, the use of candles during religious events and prayers, and the African Oromo coffee-making ceremony.
A common theme involved people taking down their home fire alarms or putting a plastic bag over them during an occasion, then forgetting to rearrange them correctly, Mr Stephens said. It was important that people got into the habit of installing smoke alarms correctly.
Mr Stephens said it was also common for people to take part in a prayer, but forget to put the candle out afterwards. "Never leave a burning candle unattended," he said.
"We also attend cooking fires in garages that have LPG cylinders around."
New Zealand Oromo Association chairman Abduro Witago said the coffee-making ceremony, which uses equipment such as a portable gas oven, heated coal and burning incense, had caused a few home fires.
- NZPA
