And The Rain Came Down....

Fire and Emergency New Zealand - Lower Hutt

We all know how hard it is to get our washing dry with the current (and seemingly never ending) wet weather.  And the Fire Fighters from Fire and Emergency NZ have certainly seen some creative methods of drying clothes, you just need to look at the attached photo that was sent to us to see that.
With the ongoing wet weather, it seems timely to remind our neighbours of some simple fire safety around using heaters and dryers to get our washing dry.  In winter, fire involving heating and clothes drying are the second most common reason Hutt Valley Fire Fighters are called out, second only to fires that start in the kitchen.
Here are simple fire safety rules to remember while you're trying to dry your washing indoors in this weather:
- Keep everything at least one metre away from a heater or fireplace - we call that the "Heater Metre Rule".  This includes wet clothes, bedding, furniture, and people.
- Never put or hang clothes on a heater to dry.  Don't store anything on top of your heating appliance, and never cover your heater with anything.
- Don't overload clothes dryers and clean out the lint filter after each load cycle.
And if an open fire or woodburner is your choice of heating or drying your clothes, remember....
Ashes can take up to five days to cool, always put them into a metal bin when cleaning out your fireplace, and pour water on them before disposal.
And no; we don't recommend using your oven as a clothes dryer, heater, or anything else not connected with cooking your dinner!