North Canterbury fire station damaged by fire after smoke alarms fail

North Canterbury fire station damaged by fire after smoke alarms fail

Rangiora's new Volunteer Fire Station has been damaged by a fire overnight, and they're looking into why the smoke alarms didn't go off.

A firefighter was walking to the station with his son when the pair noticed smoke coming from the engine bay around 6pm on Sunday.

"The guys raised the alarm and we were called to an electrical fire," says Chief Fire Officer Hamish Peter.

The ironic twist of fate is believed to have been sparked from an electrical fault from within a wall lining.

"There was some significant damage to the wiring and framing within the station," he says.

"There's a fair bit of wiring to be replaced and external and internal wall cavities."

The fire was quickly under control thanks to equipment being nearby, however, the cost of repairs is expected to amount to "a few thousand dollars."

Mr Peter says smoke alarms were installed at the station however they failed to activate.

"There was a smoke alarm just above where the fire originated and that hadn't activated at the time, it was possibly because it was such a high roof," he says.

"That's one of things we're looking at, seeing why the alarms hadn't gone."

The fire station is still business as usual and units can respond to call-outs while repairs are taking place.

"While this is disappointing, we'll just get on with it."

"It's unique to turn up to your own station but it is what it is and we'll just continue on," he added.

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