Firefighters drag people from houses in Hawke's Bay, Wellington, after cooking mishaps

Friday, 27 March 2020

There are concerns there will be a spike in cooking fires due to the lockdown.

Firefighters in Hawke's Bay and Wellington have pulled people from their smoke-filled homes who had fallen asleep while cooking.

In both fires, neighbours were the first to raise alarm.

Napier firefighters rushed to Bedford Rd in Marewa at 7.55am on Friday.

They kicked down the door and pulled a woman from the house after no-one responded to their knocks, senior station officer Glenn Drew said.

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A pan was found on the stove after firefighters were called to a smoke-filled house on Bedford Road in Napier on Friday morning.

'The lady was there on her own. She had started cooking and fell asleep on the couch.

'It was a concerned neighbour who had really good actions because she had fallen asleep and the smoke layer has come quite low.

'It's quite likely that she would have been overcome.'

Further south, Firefighters rushed to another blaze on Buick St, Petone, where someone had started cooking at 9.55am, but had gone to bed before finishing the task.

They were also removed from their smoke-filled home after neighbours raised the alarm.

A person was found asleep in bed after firefighters were called to another smoke-filled house in Wellington on Friday morning.

Pans were found on stoves at boths fires, Fire and Emergency spokeswoman Belinda Beets said.

The Napier team had been all-go since the day-shift began, which Drew wasn't expecting during lockdown.

'I was anticipating we would have less calls because everyone's home.'

However, with people staying home for at least the next four weeks, it's now more important than ever for everyone to be fire-safe, Fire and Emergency chief executive Rhys Jones said.

'A house fire can kill in five minutes – go over an escape plan with everyone in your household. Keep your cooking surfaces free from grease and please never, ever, leave pans unattended on the stove top.

'We're heading into winter, and with households self-isolating together, there'll be more cooking at home, and more use of open fires, heaters, and dryers - all things which can increase fire risk.'

Rules such as don't drink and fry or leave your cooking unattended were critical for stopping a fire before it starts as alcohol was involved in half of all fatal fires ad unattended cooking was the leading cause of house fires.

Jones said Fire and Emergency was well-prepared and ready to respond to emergencies as usual during the nationwide self- isolation period.

'Our top priority is to keep your people and our people safe. Together we can prevent both the spread of Covid-19 and the often-devastating consequences of household fires.

'At times like this it's really important to look after each other. So please also check in with vulnerable family members and neighbours. Do what you can to help them with their own fire safety preparations, as long as you can do so safely, following the advice about physical distancing on covid19.govt.nz.'

IF A FIRE STARTS

* If your frypan is on fire, place the lid of the frypan, a wet tea towel, or another large flat object (like a chopping board) over the pan to starve the fire of oxygen.

* Never throw water onto a frypan that's on fire.

* Never, ever attempt to carry a burning frypan outside.

* If you have a fire in your oven, try to turn off the power or gas, either at the stove or at the mains.