This 'Museum Exhibition' Features an Array of Charred Artefacts Retrieved from New Zealand House Fires

The museum styled exhibition features an array of charred artefacts retrieved from New Zealand house fires.

The Museum of Fires Past gives Kiwis an up-close and personal view of the harsh reality of a house fire, emphasising the importance of having a functioning smoke alarm. All of the  items displayed were carefully crafted to accurately resemble the devastating effects of fire, with each telling a genuine story of destruction and survival. 

The artefacts are displayed on spotlighted plinths, with the stories etched onto a plaque. The owners all escaped with their lives due to functioning smoke alarms in their homes. The Museum of Fires Past can be found in a series of bus shelter activations, supported by wider social, digital, radio and out-of-home across New Zealand. The message outlines the true stories, along with where to install a smoke alarm.

Fire and Emergency Senior Risk Reduction Specialist, Luke Burgess says: "We hope to never have people involved in a serious house fire, however, we can’t stress enough the importance of having working smoke alarms installed in every bedroom, living area and hallway of your house. A working smoke alarm may not have saved their belongings, but it did save their lives."

This year, Fire and Emergency has responded to around 2,800 fires. Over half of these didn’t have smoke alarms or had smoke alarms that weren’t working. Tragically, some of these fires resulted in loss of life. "Too many times we’ve attended house fires where smoke alarms haven’t been installed or were installed in the wrong place. Property and belongings can be replaced but loved ones never can," says Luke.

Fire & Emergency NZ marketing manager at Kelley Toy says: “Partnering with oOh!media MBM and Motion Sickness has been a fundamental part in bringing this idea to life. We really needed this campaign to have a lasting impression on those who see it to emphasise that having working smoke alarms in every bedroom, hallway and living area in your home could save your life.”

Andrew Hathaway and Kelly France, creative team from Motion Sickness say: “When confronted with a severely burnt personal item, naturally you assume the worst. We wanted to show Kiwis that although a fire may rob you of your belongings, it doesn’t have to rob you of your life. Housing the creative in the space of a museum felt like an interesting hook, as you’d usually expect the artefacts displayed to belong to people that are no longer alive. A lost item doesn’t have to mean a lost life.” 

oOh!media NZ head of sales Ben Gibb said: “This is the first time oOh! will be using a sequential studio takeover build to tell such an important story, utilising three of oOh!’s key shelters. If we can do our part to remind Kiwis of the importance of having working smoke alarms, we could save a life, which is a pretty great feeling.”