Reminding communities to press the button this daylight-saving

This Sunday 4 April at 3am the clocks will be changed back one hour, taking us back to New Zealand standard time, cueing our reminder to communities that it’s also the weekend to check your smoke alarms are working, no matter how new they are or how recently you changed the battery.

We want at least 80% of New Zealand households claim to check their smoke alarms at least every six months by pressing the button.

Working smoke alarms give people an early alert to fire in their home, and that early alert gives them the best chance of escaping alive.

This year, we’re using our newly launched Firefighters don’t like fire movies campaign TV ad with a new 15 second version featuring the call to action to “push the button to make sure your smoke alarms work”. The ad is airing in English and Te Reo Māori.

Ad in English

Ad in Te Reo Māori

The adverts appear across TV (including a partnership with Māori Television), video on demand, radio, online and social media from Sunday 21 March 2021 until 10 April 2021.

Please remind the communities you work with, and your friends and whānau to check their smoke alarms this daylight-saving weekend.

Share some of our important messages that can help save lives: 

• Fire moves very fast. You only have three minutes to escape.
• You are four times more likely to survive a house fire if you have working smoke alarms.
• Having working smoke alarms in the right places in your home to alert all members of the household as early as possible, is the critical first step in an effective escape plan.
• We recommend households install smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway and living area. 
• Landlords are expected to install working smoke alarms and tenants to check them regularly – we recommend once a month.

Facebook Admin group

If you are a Facebook Admin for a local Facebook page and you haven’t done so already, please join the Facebook Admin group for regular updates on campaigns and content to share: Fire and Emergency NZ Social Media Admins

Home fire safety visits

Home fire safety visits(external link) are a big part of how we help people make their homes fire safe and protect themselves from the dangers of fire. Our range of outreach tools and training resources will enable you to deliver home fire safety visits in your community.