Rental fire alarm for landlord

Missing smoke alarms could spark groundbreaking prosecution under law reforms. Jay Boreham reports.

Bevan Shaw

A landlord could face court action after his rental property burned to the ground, as fire investigators say they could find no working smoke alarms.

The property in Rodney, north of Auckland, caught fire on Thursday night while the tenants were at home.

The owner could be the first landlord to face prosecution under changes to the Residential Tenancies Act which came into force on July 1.

The landlord would not comment.

Fire risk management officer Michael Upton said no working smoke alarms were found at the property, and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment had been notified.

The new law requires landlords to have working smoke alarms installed in all their residential rental homes. It also gives the ministry new powers to investigate and prosecute landlords, particularly in relation to health and safety of tenants.

The Silverdale Volunteer Fire Brigade rushed to the scene after reports of smoke coming from the roof space of the property just before 9.30pm.

En route they received multiple calls to say a fire had taken hold, Silverdale station officer Beven Shaw said.

The volunteer firefighters doused the blaze, then spent hours pulling up roof iron and checking in behind nooks and crannies for hot spots, Shaw said.

It was a technically difficult fire to extinguish. The boys did a good job in putting it out. station officer

‘‘It was a technically difficult fire to extinguish because of the property’s style and layout,’’ he said.

‘‘The boys did a good job in putting it out. It was a great save.’’

Access to the property was difficult as it had no driveway and firefighters had to carry all their gear about 50 metres up four flights of steep stairs.

The residents were unharmed and were moving furniture out of their rental when the fire service arrived.

Firefighters covered their property in tarpaulins so it wasn’t further damaged by any water they used, Shaw said.

‘‘There was a balance between firefighting and a salvage exercise to protect their belongs,’’ he said.

Fire investigators believe the blaze may have been started by a chimney or wiring.

It will be up to MBIE to investigate to see if it is the landlord or tenant at fault, Upton said.

‘‘For the fire service it’s only really to determine if they are fitted or not.’’