2324 days ago

Another "Near Miss" House Fire

Fire and Emergency New Zealand - Lower Hutt

Fire Crews attended another “near- miss” unattended cooking fire this afternoon at a property in Naenae. Thankfully, a couple of guys going past saw the fire in the porch of a house, and called 111 to tell Fire and Emergency NZ about it.

By the time of the intervention by the passers-by, the occupants of the house had been alerted to the fire by the sounding of their smoke alarms, but they had no idea of where the smoke was coming from.

The fire itself was in a frying pan on a gas cooker in the porch at the rear of the house. The porch suffered minor damage, but the fire was only seconds away from breaking through the back door and into the house.

“Unattended cooking is the leading cause of fire and fire fatalities in New Zealand”

In this case, the smoke alarms would have prevented a fatality, but the unattended cooking, even though it was outside the back door, could have led to the loss of a family home and most of their possessions.

So there’s two lessons from this fire call today:

1. “Keep looking while you’re cooking!”

2. Smoke Alarms Save Lives

And if fire should happen to break out in your home…

Get out and stay out
In a fire, get everybody out and call 111.
And whatever you do, stay out.

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More messages from your neighbours
1 day ago

It’s Riddle Time – You Might Need an Extra Cup of Coffee!

Riddler from The Neighbourly Riddler

Nobody has ever walked this way. Which way is it?

Do you think you know the answer to our daily riddle? Don't spoil it for your neighbours! Simply 'Like' this post and we'll post the answer in the comments below at 2pm.

Want to stop seeing riddles in your newsfeed?
Head here and hover on the Following button on the top right of the page (and it will show Unfollow) and then click it. If it is giving you the option to Follow, then you've successfully unfollowed the Riddles page.

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3 days ago

What's your favourite recipe for courgettes?

Mei Leng Wong Reporter from NZ Gardener & Get Growing

Kia ora neighbours. If you've got a family recipe for courgettes, we'd love to see it and maybe publish it in our magazine. Send your recipe to mailbox@nzgardener.co.nz, and if we use it in the mag, you will receive a free copy of our January 2025 issue.

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4 days ago

Poll: Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?

The Team from Neighbourly.co.nz

The Australian Prime Minister has expressed plans to ban social media use for children.

This would make it illegal for under 16-year-olds to have accounts on platforms including TikTok, Instagram, Facebook and X.
Social media platforms would be tasked with ensuring children have no access (under-age children and their parents wouldn’t be penalised for breaching the age limit)
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Do you think NZ should follow suit? Vote in our poll and share your thoughts below.

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Do you think NZ should ban social media for youth?
  • 84.8% Yes
    84.8% Complete
  • 13.9% No
    13.9% Complete
  • 1.4% Other - I'll share below
    1.4% Complete
1609 votes