Download PDF: Issue 9 - New Zealand Fire Service

Fire safety
Eastern ambassadors
are smokin’! Story
courtesy Whakatane Beacon
Photos Fire Safety Offi cer Jon Rewi
Tales of smoke alarms saving lives are fi ltering back to the group dedicated to installing them.
Te Kotahitanga, a service run under
the New Zealand Fire Service
umbrella, has been active in the
Eastern Bay of Plenty for the past
three years.
Managed by volunteer support offi cer
John Jobe and supervised by Vinny
Haimona, the team of six fire
ambassadors has installed about
14,894 smoke alarms, visited 4364
homes and travelled 157,916
kilometres within the Eastern Bay.
And following the tales being told
they are stressing the importance of
“looking while you’re cooking”.
Mr Haimona recalled one incident
that occurred at a Kawerau home.
“The family at the home had gone to
bed and later that evening another
family member arrived home from
one of the local hotels and decided to
cook a meal.
“Unfortunately he fell asleep before
the cooking process was complete.”
As a result the lounge and kitchen
filled with smoke, activating an
alarm installed by Te Kotahitanga.
The alarm woke another member of
the family who managed to turn the
oven off, remove the pot from the
stove and vent the house.
“The next morning the rest of the
family woke to fi nd the doors and
windows open and had no idea why
the house was in that condition.”
Following the incident the mother of
the family contacted Mr Haimona to
get additional smoke alarms to
provide better coverage.
Another incident happened in
Ruatahuna.
8 Issue No. 9
In early March the team had spent
seven days in Ruatahuna installing as
many smoke alarms as practicable.
The following week a young couple
had gone out for the night, leaving a
pot of food cooking. Party-goers next
door heard a smoke alarm sounding
and put out the fi re.
Vinne Haimona with
Sharon, whose home
was saved by smoke
alarms installed by
Vinnie and his team.
Eastern Bay Te Kotahitanga fi re safety ambassadors are
clocking up huge successes, as well as kilometres: left to
right: Mike Te Pou, Karu Tawhi, manager Vinnie
Haimona, John Savage and Rich McKenzie.
Eastern Bay fire safety officer Jon
Rewi said there were probably more
success stories regarding the Tee
Kotahitanga project within the
community.
“We will probably never hear many
of them”.