Unattended cooking cause of early morning Hastings house fire
An early morning house fire that injured two people was caused by unattended cooking, Fire and Emergency New Zealand has determined.
Emergency services were called to the scene on Buckingham St, Whakatu about 12.20am. On arrival, the property was "well-involved" but appliances from Napier, Hastings and Haumoana managed to extinguish the fire by about 3.30am.
FENZ Hawke's Bay District Manager Ken Cooper stressed the importance of not leaving cooking unattended and having working smoke alarms.
"It is the number one cause of fires in the home so we're just asking people if they can to ensure they take extra caution when they are cooking and to switch off their appliances if they have to walk away," he told Hawke's Bay App.
He says there are "hidden costs" to structure fires - not only does it put people at risk, but it also puts their firefighters at risk.
"It only takes seconds for something to happen and for the property to be fully involved with fire."
He says working smoke alarms save lives, and there is credible evidence to support this.
"Smoke alarms need to be working because if there is an event that happens, you will receive early notification so that you can escape, and early notification to FENZ so we reduce the damage to the property so an early response is critical."
A spokesperson for St John said two ambulances responded and transported one patient in a serious condition, and another in a moderate condition to Hawke's Bay Hospital.
A Hawke's Bay District Health Board spokesperson confirmed two men, one in his 50s and another in his 40s, were assessed and discharged shortly afterwards.
