Deactivated smoke alarms cost North Shore man his life

A 40-year-old North Shore man who perished in an early morning house fire on January 18 died needlessly, says a top fire investigator.

William John Bishop died of smoke inhalation and heat in the kitchen of his Housing New Zealand home in Taurus Crescent, Beach Haven, even though the house had smoke alarms.

All but one of the alarms had been deactivated by Mr Bishop and his flat mate. The only working alarm was placed on a shelf and, because smoke drifts down from the ceiling, it may not have given warning early enough.

By the time firetrucks from Albany, Birkenhead and Takapuna arrived from 2.35am, the living room, dining room and kitchen of the house were engulfed in flames, and the roof had caved in, says North Shore District fire investigator Neville Trevarton.

Often particular cooking habits, incorrect installation or inadequate ventilation lead to smoke alarms becoming a nuisance, he says.

But the Taurus Cres inhabitants should have contacted Housing New Zealand about the problem rather than disabling them, Mr Trevarton says.

"This is a graphic example of what can happen. It was preventable."

Detective Senior Sergeant Mike Bush of Takapuna CIB is also investigating why Mr Bishop was still in the house when the fire took hold, because of inconsistent eye-witness accounts.

He may have gone back inside thinking that his flat mate was trapped in there.

Results of tests by the Institute of Environmental Science and Research Ltd (ESR) are not expected before next week.

Mr Bush says they will determine whether the cause of the fire is suspicious, and other factors such as whether an accelerant was present, and what it was.

- SHORE NEWS