Household fire risk on rise

Charging a number of devices on multiboards could be a fire risk, Marlborough fire bosses warn.

As families hunker down during the coronavirus lockdown, the chilly start to autumn means more people at home juggling devices and charging them.

Fire and Emergency NZ Marlborough principal rural fire officer John Foley said the chance of an electric fire starting at home was very high because many people were using the same multiboard for several devices.

‘‘There is a higher chance now for an electrical type of fire to occur through overheating of multiboxes,’’ Foley said.

He suggested spreading electrical equipment around the house, not plugging all into one multiboard, and using different power points to minimise the risk of fire. It was also important to check smoke alarms.

‘‘Don’t wait till daylight savings to make sure your smoke alarms are working. Check them now,’’ he said.

Last year’s restricted fire season was lifted at the end of March. However, this year Marlborough would continue its total fire ban at least for another four weeks. This was not just because the ground was still dry but was also due to safety concerns around firefighters because of the coronavirus outbreak.

‘‘We are still working on what the end of session looks like. Although we had rain, some parts of the district is still dry,’’ Foley said.

People had breached the fire ban, which put firefighters at unnecessary risk as they could be exposed to the coronavirus on jobs.

‘‘When people see smoke they ring 111 and we have to send a truck out,’’ he said. ‘‘Which means we have to now bring crews out of their bubbles to go have a look at something that is just a nuisance fire.’’

Picton chief fire officer Wayne Wytenburg said it also had new precautions in place to ensure firefighters were protected. This included a tag system at the fire station.

‘‘There are four tags per trucks and if those tags are gone then the incoming crew will remain outside the station unless they are told to come in,’’ Wytenburg said. ‘‘That’s one way of controling the number of people coming into the station and the number of people who are exposed to each other.’’

In a callout, there will be fewer crew members in a truck instead of fully loaded truck of six people.

‘‘We are doing minimum crews which is four people, so that’s an officer and a driver in the front seat and two firemen in the back. That’s how we are operating all around Marlborough and Nelson,’’ he said.

All the staff are wearing masks and gloves while on duty.

Picton fire brigade has 22 volunteers.

However, a few had been stood down because they worked in essential jobs elsewhere, Wytenburg said.