From July 28 to August 28 Fenz recorded 28 building fires in its Hawke’s Bay District, which extends from Wairoa to Eketahuna. Photo / Supplied
Unattended cooking is the leading cause of building fires which have more than quadrupled in Hawke’s Bay and Tararua compared with the same month last year.
From July 28 to August 28 Fire and Emergency New Zealand (FENZ) recorded 28 building fires in its Hawke’s Bay District, which extends fromWairoa to Eketahuna, almost one a day.
A number of these fires have involved significant damage to houses and injuries in some cases, taking place in Hastings, Waipukurau, Napier and near Dannevirke.
Jess Nesbit, FENZ senior advisor for community readiness and recovery, said this was a huge spike compared to six building fires over the same period last year.
“Unattended cooking can be anything from walking away from cooking to forgetting you’ve got cooking and going to sleep or going out, those sorts of things.”
She said other causes included electrical faults and combustible materials being too close to a heat source.
“Having a smoke alarm is essential for an early warning in a fire and having a smoke alarm in every bedroom, living room and hallway is what we recommend. Ensuring people test them so they know the smoke alarm is going to work.”
She said smoke alarms, an escape plan and a safe meeting place were the three most important things to have in the event of a house fire, which could be fully involved in three minutes.
She said early detection could save both property and lives.
James Pocock joined Hawke’s Bay Today in 2021 and writes breaking news and features, with a focus on environment, local government and post-cyclone issues in the region. He has a keen interest in finding the bigger picture in research and making it more accessible to audiences. He lives in Napier. james.pocock@nzme.co.nz