Mapua Volunteer fire news

The Team from Mapua Volunteer Fire Brigade

Last week we had two fires that could have been a lot worse than they were
A person put ashes from a fireplace into a plastic bucket and left them next to a wooden box with firewood in it, inside the garage. Person was away for the day, luckily a neighbour saw some smoke coming from the garage and called 111 – Fire.
The garage had damage to door opener, power circuit broad and gib broad with little damage to the structure.

Fire and Emergency safety tip is

Always empty ashes and ashtrays into a metal bin and pour water over them before disposal. Remember that ashes can take up to 5 days to cool.

Do not leave on wooden decks or beside wooden parts of building

Do not leave inside any building

The second fire was a pot of oil on the stove.

(This was the third fire of this type in a year in Mapua)

After cooking with cooking oil in a pot the person forgot to turn stove off. (When oil get very hot it will self-Ignite). A neighbour saw flames in the house and called 111 -fire, than alerted the person at home.

There was minor damage to area round and above stove

Fire and Emergency safety tip is

Don’t leave the room when cooking. If you have to, always turn off the stove first. Unattended cooking is the leading cause of house fires in New Zealand.

Keep curtains, tea towels, oven mitts and any flammable items well away from the cooking area when you're cooking.

• 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.

For more safety information

Visit

fireandemergency.nz...

Photo shows what happens when water is put on to a oil fire