Timaru house fire a stark reminder of dangers of unattended cooking

August 18, 2018

Hundreds of people got to see the aftermath of the kitchen fire, the most common blazes in NZ.


The burnt out remains of a house fire in Timaru are providing a stark reminder about the dangers of leaving cooking unattended.

Several weeks ago, smoke billowed out of the windows of the home as the fire service fought to get the blaze under control.

Yesterday, in a first for the region, the Fire Service welcomed nearly 1000 locals into the remains of the home to help gain a rare insight into just what can happen when things go wrong.

South Canterbury fire risk management officer Craig Chambers said the fire started on the stove top as a result of unattended cooking.

"It happened very quick - under 10 minutes," Mr Chambers said.

"This house - it's very, very rare. We're very lucky to have it in condition safe enough to have public come through the house."

No one was killed in the fire, but all that remains of the once fully functioning kitchen is a few smashed plates and the shells of kitchen appliances.

Washdyke acting senior station officer Brian Stone said he has been to a number of house fires, "and this shocked even me, walking in here and seeing the damage".

A visitor to the home said it was "quite scary just to think someone used to call this home and now it’s just gone".

Another visitor said, "This is education - real education, real life what can happen in a fire, and it’s just so scary".

Mr Chamber said the scene in the burnt house can shock people.

"We're not intending to shock people, we're intending to inform them, and it can be quite confronting," he said.

There were just over 3000 house fires in New Zealand in the past 12 months - more than 700 of which were caused by unattended cooking, and just 41 per cent of the houses had working fire alarms.


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