Fire Service reiterates 'get out, stay out' message

A southern Fire Service head has a strong message for people ignoring their own safety and re-entering burning buildings - they should at least think of the people that have to clean up the mess.

Fire Service Southland area manager Brendan Nally said Gore woman Jayne Marchant was lucky to be alive after she returned to her burning house five times to save her dogs and Australian lizards last week, the Southland Times reported.

The service had been repeating the "get out, stay out" message for years but people continued to take risks, he said.

More than half the people hurt or killed in house fires had either disregarded the opportunity to escape or had re-entered the building, according to his estimates.

Fires were fast and furious and people choosing to go back inside were likely to get hurt or killed. If people did not care about their own safety, they should think about the emergency services staff who had to clean up the mess, he said.

Southland farmer Geoffrey Smith died in December of horrific burns after rushing into his burning implement shed.

The volunteer firefighters who dealt with Mr Smith's death knew him personally and it had a serious impact on them, Mr Nally said.

However, Miss Marchant said she had no regrets, she had not put her life at risk, and she would do the same thing again.

- NZPA