Fire at Lake Rotoiti marae

FILE

The Fire Service is urging all marae to check the fire safety of their buildings after a close call at the Taurua marae on the shores of Lake Rotoiti.

At 3pm today fire appliances from Rotoma and Rotorua responded to an electrical fire in the meeting house of the marae.

Upon arrival the buildings were evacuated and the fire extinguished due to the quick thinking of the whanau occupying the marae at the time.

The Fire Service's National Maori Advisor, Piki Thomas, said it was a timely reminder for all marae to manage the risk of fire for whare tupuna (ancestral houses).

Marae member Willie Emery said if the fire wasn't seen then extinguished by the whanau the damage would have been catastrophic so he supports the call for marae to improve fire safety.

"I belong to many marae around here and I'm told that the combination of aged wiring, tinder dry wooden construction and newly introduced electrical appliances make marae ticking time bombs if not maintained properly."

The Fire Service urges all marae to consider fire safety for their buildings - particularly for the sleeping areas.

Mr Thomas said "marae fire safety is aligned to the ethos of manaaki tangata or caring for one another."

"Most marae buildings are constructed with little or no fire rated materials to reduce fire spread and even if marae were (constructed with fire rated materials) the open plan layout of the building isn't designed to stem the spread of fire. So marae need early fire detection systems to detect fires while they are small & an evacuation plan to provide a safe and speedy evacuation of the building for the occupants.

"The best recommendation we give all marae is to have smoke detection, sprinklers and an evacuation plan."

New Zealand Fire Service staff are available to discuss marae fire safety options that are appropriate for each marae. This free service is available to every marae by contacting 0800 MAHUIKA (0800 6248452)