On a wintry morning in May a young widow and 7 of her children had a lucky escape when they were wakened by the sound of the smoke alarms in their house shrilling. A teenage daughter looked out into the hallway and saw smoke and flames coming from the laundry and shouted to her Mother that the house was on fire. They roused the rest of the children and got them past the burning laundry and out of the house unharmed but very shaken and cold.
If they did not have working smoke alarms this family could have been trapped and perished as it may have been too late to get past the flames once they had taken hold as the laundry was opposite and beyond the 5 bedrooms. It was still dark though they might have managed to climb out of the windows even if rather high off the ground. Firemen from Howick attended the fire which rendered the house unbelievable. Smoke Alarms (you may need more than one) can cost as little as NZ$10 plus a battery…Make sure you have them and that they are working…to KEEP YOUR FAMILY SAFE!
