Reduce your fire risk this Christmas

Reduce your fire risk this Christmas - Don't put safety on the back-burner
Source: Fire and Emergency New Zealand

Christmas is a highly-anticipated time of year when families get together to enjoy the festivities and summer season. Across the country, BBQs, outdoor sports, and pavlovas are amongst the most popular Kiwi traditions in households over this period.

Unfortunately, also ranking high on the Kiwi Christmas traditions list each year is the number of fire callouts. 2018/19’s summer is forecast to be hot and dry with weather experts warning Kiwis of an increased fire risk from last year.

Last year saw a national total of 150 fires across the 48 hours of Christmas and Boxing Day. In 2017, the two most common causes were vegetation fires and rubbish skip fires. This was up from the 134 Christmas and Boxing Day fires in 2016 where vegetation and rubbish skip fires were also the top two causes of fire closely followed by BBQ, hangi, and bonfires.

National Adviser Fire Risk Management for Fire and Emergency New Zealand, Peter Gallagher says, "We see a large number of fires each year over Christmas and Boxing Day that could have been avoided. Taking a few extra precautions is not much hassle if it guarantees that you and your family have a safe holiday."
Due to the predicted temperature highs, he recommends mowing the lawns now as the grass will soon be too long and dry and will be more prone to vegetation fires.

Fire and Emergency New Zealand has created a list of its top five simple tips to reduce the risk of fire for a safe festive season:

1. Check the Christmas tree lights - don’t overload power boards or try to cover up electrical cords and remember to switch off the tree lights before you go to bed.

2. Minimise kitchen distractions - cooking for the whole family can be stressful so keep the kitchen tidy to avoid anything catching on fire and don’t drink and fry.

3. Be careful with outdoor cooking - when hosting a Boxing Day BBQ, check the weather first to ensure it’s not too windy. If you’re cooking a hangi for the whanau, make sure to read our cultural safety guidelines here.

4. Reassure house guests - if you’ve got family members staying, make sure they know the escape route and meeting point if a fire occurs in the house. Before they visit, it’s a good time to check your smoke alarms too.

5. Before you light, check it’s alright - when you’re not sure whether it is safe to light a fire or if you need a permit, head to www.checkitsalright.nz
To find out more about how you can reduce your risk of fire this summer, head to https://fireandemergency.nz/

ENDS

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