Fire and Emergency is urging people to take home fire safety seriously after four people were injured in a house fire in Northland early yesterday morning.

Group Manager Wayne Martin says a parent and three children received burns in the fire, which was in a remote rural area. They did not get early warning of the fire because there were no working smoke alarms in the house.

"This shows the importance of having working smoke alarms in every home," Mr Martin says. "Every whanau and household needs to have an escape plan for their home, and make sure everyone knows what to do in the case of fire. That includes getting out quickly, going to the pre-arranged safe meeting place, and not trying to go back inside."

After escaping their home, the family sought help from neighbours some distance away, and four fire crews battled to save the house, but it was already well ablaze when they arrived about 10 minutes after being alerted.

Mr Martin says the fire was devastating for the whanau involved, and he hoped to save others from suffering the same traumatic experience.

The weather had changed from warm and humid conditions to cold, wet and windy in the last week, so people across Northland would be using their home fires again. "It’s really important to get your chimney swept, make sure your fireplace or burner is in good working order, and check that your smoke alarms are working."

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