Kelso Fire Station captain Scott Wilson preaches importance of smoke alarms

Two Fire and Rescue NSW and two Rural Fire Service crews responded to reports of a house fire at 7.45pm on Monday, November 21, in Opperman Way, Windradyne.

On arrival, it was discovered that the fire wasn't as bad as first reported, and was isolated in the oven where food had caught alight.

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Due to the smoke, the fire alarm in the household was activated and notified the monitoring company, who then contacted Fire and Rescue.

Crews from the Kelso station attended and captain Scott Wilson said it could have been a lot worse if the smoke alarms weren't working.

"There was no structural damage or anything like that and the two elderly residents self-evacuated," he said.

"We got there and cleared the smoke out of the house and did some atmospheric monitoring to make sure it was safe for them to return.

"The biggest thing is that it proves that smoke alarms work, it's something that could have turned out a lot worse. Just having the smoke alarm alert them meant they were able to get out safely."

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According to the NSW Fire and Rescue website, people are twice as likely to die in a house fire if the smoke alarm isn't working.

The website also says that Fire and Rescue NSW respond to around 4500 residential fires each year, half of which begin in the kitchen.

While the modern lithium battery alarms last 10 years, Capt Wilson said it's still important for people to regularly test alarms to make sure they are sounding and lighting up, to ensure they are alerted if a fire does occur.

"If you don't have working smoke alarms and you're asleep won't wake up pretty much, the smoke will get you and put you in a deeper sleep and you won't wake up," he said.

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"You lose your sense of smell when you're sleeping, so that's why smoke alarms are very important these days."

Fire and Rescue NSW provide a home fire safety visit program where they check people's smoke alarms, help them with evacuation plans and replace any out of date alarms with a free 10-year lithium battery smoke alarm.

Capt Wilson said anyone with any concerns can register for a visit at fire.nsw.gov.au or contact the local station.

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