Fire extinguishers may be a common fixture in the workplace, but how common are they in the home?

State Insurance NZ data shows there’s been a 16 per cent increase in the number of fire claims between summer and winter during the last three years.

And only three per cent of house fire claims received by State involved the use of a fire extinguisher – and on average these claims were nearly $50,000 less.

So do Tauranga residents have a fire extinguisher at home? And if so, do they know how to use it?

The Sun recently put the questions to passer-bys in Downtown Tauranga.

Jock Nicholson. Photo: John Borren.

CBD worker Jock Nicholson, and Timothy Allan don’t have fire extinguishers in their homes but they do have smoke detectors and fire alarms.

Timothy says he has a very good “nest fire alarm” that detects different gases.

“The level of sensors they’ve got are greater than a standard fire alarm and it’s synced to your phone.”

Both are confident they’d know how to wield an extinguisher in a fire event.

“I’ve done health and safety training at work,” says Jock.

PTASS

Using a fire extinguisher involves the ‘PTASS’ method – Pull the pin, Test squirt the extinguisher, Aim the nozzle low at the fire’s base, Squeeze the trigger slowly and evenly, then Sweep the extinguisher side-to-side covering the areas where the fire has spread.

Timothy Allan. Photo: John Borren.

Having run companies that manufactured lithium-ion batteries, Timothy says the type of fire extinguishers people use in the event of a fire is key too.

“A lot of people have lithium-ion batteries in a lot of different places around their homes these days. If you put a powder extinguisher on that you may as well just hit it with a wet bus ticket because it will do absolutely nothing.”

He says C02 foam extinguishers are appropriate for fires involving lithium batteries.

Confident users

Out of 10 people The Weekend Sun spoke to, five answered ‘Yes’ to keeping a fire extinguisher in their home.

Tash Owen. Photo: John Borren.

Tash Owen keeps a fire extinguisher in her home and is confident using one.

“I did my skippers course and to drive commercial boats where you have to do fire training.

“I didn’t have a fire extinguisher at my house before that.”

Alex Te Paa also has a fire extinguisher in his home and has given it a test drive.

Alex Te Paa. Photo: John Borren.

“We did some wiring in the house and then before we turned everything back on we were like: ‘Let’s see if this works’ and we went outside and shot it,” says Alex.

All in all, keeping an appropriate fire extinguisher for the area it is in within your home and knowing how to confidently use it for small fires, can help keep you and your home safe.