KEY POINTS:
A smoke alarm is being credited with saving a south Auckland family from a Christmas Eve house fire.
Onehunga senior station officer Gary Lane said though the fire spread quickly, the two adults, four children and a baby all managed to safely get out of the house.
"The father was woken by the fire alarm, saw the smoke and got everybody out. The family waited in their car on the road until it was over," he told NZPA.
Firefighters were called to the blaze, which started when a candle set a curtain on fire shortly after midnight on Sunday.
Four fire trucks answered the call had had the fire under control in about 10 minutes, Mr Lane said.
Two rooms and the roofspace of the family's house had been damaged by the fire. However, the parents had moved the Christmas presents into another, less-affected room, saving them from destruction.
The incident highlighted the necessity of smoke detectors, he said.
"People think they will be woken up when they smell smoke, but scientists have found you can't smell smoke when you are asleep," Mr Lane said.
Due to the number of appliances people had in their houses, the Fire Service recommended having one smoke alarm in each room.
- NZPA
