A couple killed in a fire alongside their 8-year-old son had smoke alarms in their home, but had taken the batteries out to stop them buzzing when the rooms got too cold.
Tej, 49, and Tika Kafle, 42, and their son, Prem, were killed when an electric plastic kettle they bought just weeks earlier caused a fire in the four-bedroom flat above their Waimate business on August 5, 2015.
Prem's three older sisters – Mamata, Manisha, and Tulsi – had to be plucked to safety from the back verandah of the flat above the Everest Indian Restaurant.
Tej came to New Zealand from Nepal in 2007 and the rest of the family moved here in 2013.
Coroner Marcus Elliott's findings, released on Wednesday, noted the flat had smoke alarms, but the family had taken the batteries out.
Battery-powered smoke alarms were more likely to function properly in a warm, insulated environment. They could malfunction if the temperature was under 4 degrees Celsius or over 38C, he said.
.................
"The fire began at some point shortly before 7.40am when an electric plastic kettle which was in the kitchen upstairs ignited," he said.
An investigation by WorkSafe energy safety senior technical officer Miles Bonfield found the fire was most likely caused by the Necessities brand kettle the family purchased in Timaru a few weeks earlier, but it was not not possible to determine what caused it to ignite.
"Over 66,000 units of this model of kettle were sold in New Zealand. This is the first report of a fire being caused by this kettle that Energy Safety is aware of," Bonfield said.
The coroner said the Warehouse was mindful of the family's and public's sensitivity and withdrew the item from sale on March 4, 2016.
"There is no evidence that this type of kettle is inherently faulty. The kettle has since been superseded by a newer model," Elliott said.
He noted the risk of fire from any small appliance could be reduced by monitoring them while they were being used and then turning them off at the wall after.