A pot of forgotten curried sausages left on the stove resulted in a Carterton resident receiving a frightening wake-up call in the form of shrill sound of their fire alarm and the stench of burning.
The occupant alerted fire services just before 1.30am yesterday as the house filled with smoke, and the swift arrival of two fire trucks prevented the situation from evolving into a house fire.
The only damage was the severely charred pot of curried sausages.
Carterton Fire Brigade officer Wayne Robinson said the fire crew were relieved to be able to respond before the situation developed into something more serious: “Just a house full of smoke, very well-done curried sausages and a pot that was black.”
Robinson said the crew removed the pot from the house and got a fan inside to ventilate, and the occupant was allowed back inside within 20 minutes.
Although there was no property damage, Robinson said the house was likely to smell of smoke for the next few days.
The remedy to that, Robinson said, is vanilla.
“I’ve heard that if you boil vanilla in a bit of water on the stove – just put it on low and let it steam – it apparently gets rid of the smell.”
Robinson said this incident is another illustration of the importance of working smoke alarms.
“Once again, working smoke alarms alerted people that they had a problem in their house.”
