Fire sparks safety message
A person was taken to hospital in a minor condition after a fire in a Timaru church meeting room sparked by a heater placed too close to a couch.
The incident, at the church on Rhodes St on Thursday evening, has prompted a safety message from Fire and Emergency NZ.
Mid-South Canterbury District advisor risk reduction Leighton Brehaut said the fire, reported about 6.50pm, started after a church member switched the heater on in the meeting room to warm it up. “The room was left unattended for a time,’’ he said.
When he returned to check that the room was ready for the meeting, he discovered it was filled with thick smoke.
“At this point, the building rep did almost all of the right things, including activating the manual fire alarm and calling out to his wife to ring 111.’’
However, he then made the mistake of attempting to extinguish the fire.
“This resulted in a trip to hospital for smoke inhalation, but he has since been released and is back to full health,’’ Brehaut said.
Fire crews from Timaru and Washdyke attended.
Hato Hone St John confirmed that it was notified of the incident just after 7pm, and responded with one ambulance.
“One patient was assessed at the scene and transported to Timaru Hospital in a minor condition,’’ the spokesperson said.
Brehaut said that because winter was approaching, heater use was on the rise.
“This incident is a good opportunity to remind our communities of the ‘metre from the heater’ rule – clothes, bedding or anything that could catch fire, like a couch, should always be at least one metre away from a heat source.
“It also highlights the importance of if you discover a fire, you should close the doors to where the fire is if possible, get out of the building or home, and ring 111.’’
He urged people to not place themselves in harm’s way, or attempt to extinguish the fire. “Wait for trained firefighters to do that instead.’’