Download - New Zealand Fire Service

Being smokefree
saves lives
The New Zealand Fire Service Magazine
Promotions
Each year, around 5,000 people die from smoking-related
diseases while burning cigarettes cause 1,150 house fires.
So Auckland Fire Region Fire Safety Officer, Gary Beer,
joined forces with Harbour Health PHO to take the message
to students at Massey University’s Albany campus for world
Smokefree Day. Flint and Amber show the best way to snuff out a cigarette as part
of a joint effort by the Fire Service and health agencies to
demonstrate smoking is both a fire hazard
and a health risk.
It pays to advertise
The new hard-hitting Fire Service television advertisements on the danger of
unattended cooking have struck a real chord with the public.
In our latest Communication Effectiveness
survey almost everyone who
saw the advertisement showing a
fatal kitchen fire remembered it and
got the message. It has been one of
the Fire Service’s most effective
advertisements.
The 500 adults surveyed all had
very good recall of the ad and its
messages with four out of 10 saying
it prompted a change in their
behaviour in some way.
Some of the comments included:
It made me think twice about
walking out of the kitchen. It was
quite a shocking one.
I’ll be a bit more aware and careful
if there are people around.
Be more careful in the kitchen and
don’t leave it unattended.
Showing the deadly consequences of
failing to install smoke alarms also
appeared to be a powerful motivator
with one in three saying they had
changed their behaviour in some way.
Some of the comments from those
surveyed were:
Bought new battery for the
smoke detector.
Checked that fire alarms
around the house were
working.
Got batteries for smoke alarms and
put my smoke alarms up again.
More aware of electrical appliances
and make sure that nothing’s left
on that shouldn’t be left on and to
ensure checking of batteries in
smoke alarms regularly.
July 2010
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