New Zealand Fire Service

“C’mon guys, Get firewise”

Matches and Lighters are Tools not Toys Keep all matches and lighters up high, out of the sight and reach of children
Teach children to take matches or lighters to an adult straight away
Only use child resistant lighters and safety matchbox holders
Child resistant lighters are not child proof!

Cooking the number 1 Fire Danger in your home! Never leave cooking unattended Always watch the pan or pot when cooking with oil or fat
If oil or fat is smoking, turn off the heat
Snuff out a fat fire with a pot lid or oven tray. Never carry it outside
Don’t cook when you’ve been drinking.
Alcohol and cooking don’t mix

Butt out Before I Butt in! Smoking in bed is dangerous
Use a solid ashtray to stub out butts – soak butts with water before throwing out
Check behind cushions for butts and ashes before going to bed

Use Candles with Care Use candles in a secure candle holder with a wide flat base
Keep candles away from paper, curtains, bedclothes and anything that will burn easily
Put out candles before you go to sleep or leave a room
Don’t allow children to play with candles or be unsupervised in a room with a lit candle

Ashes: Ashes can take up to five days to cool. Place in a metal container, well clear of your home

PowerPoints: Don’t overload power points tor multi-boxes – use multi-boxes with circuit breakers

Heating: Remember the heater-metre rule-keep furniture, clothes and curtains at least one metre away from heaters and fire-places

Electric Blankets: Always turn off your electric blanket at the wall before getting into bed. Have blankets checked annually by a competent service person

Get Out Alive with Smoke Alarms and an Escape Plan Work out an escape plan to suit your home and talk about it with everybody in the house
Practise your escape plan at least every six months
Remember you need to:

Have working smoke alarms
Know two ways out of every room if possible
Make sure that doors and windows needed for escape are clear and easy to open. And that there is a safe way to reach the ground, including upper floors.
Keep keys in deadlocks at all times when home
Have an outside meeting place, such as a letterbox or a special tree
Make special plans for young children and older people
What to do in a fire

Crawl low and fast to escape smoke ‘Get Down, Get Low, Get Out’
Shut doors behind you to slow the spread of fire
Meet at the planned meeting place
Once out, stay out- never go back inside
Phone the Fire Service from a safe phone

Tell the Fire Service your: House number
Street nearest intersection
Suburb and city
Rural ID number if you have one

Wait for the Fire Service to arrive and tell them where the fire is and if anyone is still inside

Smoke Alarms give early warning of fire Fires start quietly and grow quickly. If you are asleep you are unlikely to smell smoke and detect a fire
Smoke alarms can save lives and property by alerting you when the fire is still small
You don’t know where a fire will start so install a smoke alarm in every hallway, bedroom and living area and on every level of your home
Install smoke alarms on the ceiling at least 300mm from any cornier or wall. If they are wall mounted place them 150 mm from the ceiling
Buy smoke alarms that have on e of the following standard symbols

Are your smoke alarms working?

Replace any smoke alarms that are not working or are over 10 years old
Dust in the smoke alarm can stop it working and cause nuisance alarms. Gently dust the alarm with a vacuum cleaner brush every six months
Test smoke alarms each month by pushing the test button to ensure it beeps. You may need to use a broom handle. Change the battery when required.

Fire is Fast. Don’t let this happen to you! House fires burn very fast because of home insulation and modern building and furnishing materials
Even when the Fire Service arrives within three minutes of a 111 phone call it can be too late to save people
That’s why it is so important to prevent fires starting, to use smoke alarms and to have a home escape plan

Questions that could save your life and your property

How to Prevent Fires and go FireWise

When frying/deep frying, do you always stay by the stove and keep a pot lid or oven tray handy?
Are matches, cigarette lighters and candles kept safe when there are children around, i.e. out of sight and well above their reach?
Do you stub butts out in a suitable ashtray and empty it regularly
Do you always keep lighted candles and oil burners well away from anything that will burn easily?
Do you regularly clear away household rubbish and keep ti well away from the house?
Do you always use a spark guard or fire screen with an open fire?
Are heaters kept at least one metre away from curtains, furniture and bedding?
Do you avoid overloading power points and multi-boxes and use multi-boxes with circuit breakers?
Do you make sure your electric blanket si turned off before you get into bed?
Do you do a ‘night check’?

How to be Fire Safe and Stay Alive Is there a working smoke alarm in the hallway, every sleeping area and on every level of your home?
Do you test your smoke alarms regularly?
Do you replace smoke alarm batteries annually or when the unit starts “cheeping”? (change your smoke alarm batteries when you change your clocks for daylight saving)
Has your household discussed a fire escape plan with at least two ways out of every room and a safe meeting place (e.g. letterbox or a special tree)?
Are the keys kept in the deadlocks on your doors and windows when you gare at home?
Does everyone know what to say if they call 111?
17. Is your house number easy to see so emergency vehicles can find you?
Do you have a fire extinguisher in your home and do you keep the garden hose connected?

Remember “Do a fire check every night before you turn out the light” Are kitchen appliances turned off and safe?
Are heaters turned off and furniture and clothes one metre from heaters or the fire place?
Has the ashtray been emptied into a metal bin outside?
Have you turned the TV off using the power switch on the set and not the remote control ‘standby’?
Are all candles out before you go to bed?
Have you closed kitchen and living room doors to slow a fire from spreading to bedrooms?
Is the house secure with keys in deadlocks?
Are the passageways clear for a quick escape?
Have you turned off all electric blankets before getting into bed?

For more fire safety tips check out the

Fire Service Website www.fire.org.nz