Paata Marae Fire - A Timely Reminder For All Marae

The Fire Service urges all marae to make their buildings & taonga safe from fire.

Today's fire at the Paata Marae near Kaitaia is an unfortunate but timely reminder for all marae to manage the risk of fire for our tupuna whare (ancestral houses) says the Fire Services' National Advisor on kaupapa Maori, Piki Thomas.

Fortunately, the Kaitaia brigade was able to confine the fire to the mattress room but initial investigations suggest that the Paata marae fire was preventable.. Piki Thomas says, “The best solution is to stop fires from starting in the first place by practicing fire safe behaviour around the marae. As a secondary approach, marae need to prepare the people, buildings & other taonga for the event of fire.”

The Fire Service urges all marae to consider fire safety for their buildings - particularly for the sleeping areas. Mr Thomas says that "marae fire safety is aligned to the ethos of manaaki tangata or caring for one another. Therefore having people sleep in our marae buildings that are devoid of early warning devices of fire ridicules the concept of manaaki tangata.

Most marae buildings are constructed with little or no fire rated materials to reduce fire spread and even if marae were (constructed with fire rated materials) the open plan layout of the building isn't designed to stem the flow of fire. So marae need early fire detection systems to detect fires while they are small & an evacuation plan to provide a safe and speedy evacuation of the building for the occupants. The best recommendation we give all marae is to have
• Smoke detection
• Sprinklers and
• An evacuation Plan

New Zealand Fire Service staff are available to discuss marae fire safety options that are appropriate for each marae. This free service is available to every marae by contacting your local fire safety officer or by contacting 0800 MAHUIKA (0800 6248452)