Hot ashes can be fatal: fire officer

"If people do not learn how to dispose of ashes safely, we could very well be dealing with a fire death."

Southern Region fire service officer Stuart Ide demonstrates the damage hot ashes can do to a regular plastic wheelie bin, and says hot ashes should be left in a metal container with lid for at least five days to cool off. Photo by Henrietta Kjaer.

"I am deeply concerned by the picture emerging, and the winter season has hardly even started," he said.

His comments follow a series of fires recently, including one at a Hunter Cres, Wanaka address on Monday night.

Tenants at the property told firefighters the blaze had started shortly after they had dumped a bucket of ashes into a compost bin, Wanaka Fire Brigade station officer Mark Strang said.

The blaze caused some "minor damage" to the property, and after it was extinguished, firefighters spent about an hour dampening down the area, Mr Strang said.

The incident was preceded by a fire in Arrowtown last week where ashes set a shed on fire and threatened to spread to nearby houses.

Last month, a wooden house in Naseby was gutted by fire, believed to have been caused by hot ashes left in a plastic bucket.

In late December last year, a grass fire at the Stoneridge Resort near Lake Hayes was started by ashes left on a rubbish pile.

Mr Ide was sure there had been more of those sorts of fires recently.

Fortunately the fires had been discovered and extinguished early, he said.

There were easy ways to safely dispose of ashes, he said. Ashes could be cooled by thoroughly soaking them with water.

A light sprinkle was not enough; the ashes had to be thoroughly drenched, he said.

Ashes could also be put in a metal container with a lid covering them.

Ashes should not be put into a plastic bucket, a wheelie bin, or wooden or cardboard box.

It was important to give the ashes at least five days to cool in the metal container, he said.

"A pile of ashes might look cool on the surface, but it can be smouldering for days. Do not pour ashes on a rubbish pile or into the compost bin until they have had time [at least five days] to cool in the metal container."

To get a good start for the winter, he recommended having the chimney swept, and getting a metal box or bucket with a lid, for the ashes.

He did not want to attend a disastrous fire that could easily have been prevented, he said.