16 Wednesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>12</strong> <strong>2018</strong> Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Your Local Views Local News Now SELWYN TIMES Fire rages, homes at risk Stay safe by installing smoke alarms Lincoln chief fire officer Jeremy Greenwood writes about how to stay safe in your house SMOKE ALARMS and escape plans save lives, it’s as simple as that. Yet, it astonishes me how many homes in and around the village don’t have working, effective smoke alarms. I suspect even fewer households have escape plans. If you haven’t got any smoke alarms then it’s time to fork out just a few dollars and purchase some. If you do have them, check the batteries. An escape plan costs nothing and takes just 15min to create with your family, flatmates or others you live with. An escape plan is a predetermined way of getting out of your house, fast and safely. After all, in a fire, you’ll probably be scared and disorientated. Toxic smoke might make it hard to breathe and see clearly. You will only have one or two minutes from the sounding of the smoke alarm to when your life is seriously threatened by fire SAFETY: Lincoln chief fire officer Jeremy Greenwood is encouraging residents to check their smoke alarms are working. or smoke. Every year Fire and Emergency New Zealand attends more than 3500 house fires. Incredibly, in 80 per cent of the fatal fires we attend have smoke alarms which are either not installed or not working. House fires aren’t just something that you read about happening in other places, “Every year our crews attend house fires in our area – Springston, Lincoln, Tai Tapu – and further afield such as Rolleston and Prebbleton. They are fast, frightening and ferocious,” FENZ reports. Working smoke alarms are the best way to make sure you and your family get an early warning of a fire so you can get out alive. However, having a smoke alarm is just part of the solution. They need to be installed correctly and then maintained. FENZ recommends installing long-life photoelectric type smoke alarms in every bedroom, living area, and hallway – on every level in the house. However, this is not always practical and at an absolute minimum a long-life photoelectric type smoke alarm should be installed in the hallway closest to the bedrooms. The best way to start preparing your escape plan is by getting together everyone who lives in your house. “Walk through each room and identify the exits. Go outside and find a safe spot, away from the house, which can be your safe meeting place. This is where everyone will gather in the event of a fire. A landmark like a letterbox or special tree is best. “Identify a primary escape route out of every room. Then pick a secondary route in case the first is blocked by fire. Check there is a safe way to reach the ground from upper floors. Make sure there’s at least two ways out of every room and that doors and windows can be opened easily,” FENZ recommends. If you have small children, sit down with a pen and paper and actually make a map of your home. Have them draw escape plans from the bedroom and memorise the quickest way out of the house. You can also use the FENZ online escape planner tool, which takes you through the steps of creating an escape plan. And remember, prepare your escape plan and practice it regularly. Most importantly, if you have any questions about smoke alarms or escape plans, please feel free to get in touch with your local fire station. The team will be happy to help. Readers respond to the Rolly Inn potentially being added to the heritage item list John and Heather Toone – We believe that the Rolly Inn should be listed as a heritage building. Rolleston hasn’t got many historic buildings and if they are all demolished our history will be lost forever. We moved to Rolleston 22 years ago and apart from the pub, a dairy, a fish ’n’ chip shop and the old BP station there was nothing else apart from the housing in the old area. The Rolly Inn is apparently 82-years-old and we feel that losing this building would be a great loss to Rolleston and the people of Rolleston. Gail Williams – I don’t see it as heritage. To my mind it’s ugly with no architectural features at all. Pull it down and put something more functional in its place. Hamish MacPherson – Restore it. Could be an awesome old pub if the owner would invest rather than let it rot. Rod Dunn – Pull the eyesore down now while there is no order on it. John Dunphy – Is the TAB taking bets on whether it will mysteriously catch fire? Carl Pungaman – Whose pub is it? It’s not the council’s. Patsy Stone – Hysterical . . . not historical. Alice Faber – Why not both? Tess Lenihan – Sorry, but not exactly the best looking pub around. But don’t go building something bloody ugly in its place. Kyle Meijer - It’s a true classic. Allan John Fidler - Ugly old shack, bulldoze it. Andy Neale has his say on speeding in Prebbleton I have just read the article in the <strong>Selwyn</strong> <strong>Times</strong>. I live on Hodgens Rd and morning/late afternoon traffic is very busy and fast. We also have large trucks (50-tonne plus) and a lot of camper vans which must be going to Akaroa and being directed by GPS taking them over some very dangerous intersections. I have lived in Prebbleton since 2001 and commuting traffic has become a huge issue and won’t ease with the motorway as Lincoln has to feed through and with the growth out there it’s getting worse not better. We need to police the ‘angry’ speeding commuters who blaze through our community. INTERNATIONAL Comedy Night LINCOLN EVENT CENTRE SATURDAY 6 OCTOBER ON SALE NOW Nic Rado Wilson Dixon Ben Hurley Rhys Nicholson Melanie Bracewell TICKETS AVAILABLE FROM: Crate & Barrel - www.selwynsounds.co.nz - Bridgestone Lincoln -
SELWYN TIMES Latest Christchurch news at www.star.kiwi Wednesday <strong>September</strong> <strong>12</strong> <strong>2018</strong> 17