KEY POINTS:
The Fire Service is urging people to check smoke alarms installed in homes are properly connected, after a Northland woman perished in a blaze when her alarm failed to activate due to a lack of batteries.
The woman, aged about 56, died on Saturday night when smoke enveloped her bed-sit unit, one of a block of four in Tawanui Rd, Kaikohe. Her name has yet to be released.
Fire safety officers believe an accidentally discarded cigarette ignited bedclothes after she fell asleep while smoking.
Kaikohe deputy chief fire officer Wiremu Matene said firefighters with breathing apparatus broke down a door to enter the smoke-filled unit about 10.30pm.
The woman might have tried to get out but was overcome by smoke.
Northland Fire Service regional commander Trevor Andrews said smoke alarms in the unit had no batteries.
"That's a concern because we put a lot of effort into installing alarms. It's a tragedy because the alarm was there but there was no battery," he told the New Zealand Herald
He urged people to ensure their alarms were in working order.
- NZPA
