People are urged to check on older family members, friends and neighbours when daylight saving begins this weekend, with warnings that half the people who die in house fires are aged over 60.

As clocks move forward one hour on Sunday, Fire and Emergency New Zealand community education manager Tom Ronaldson said older New Zealanders were increasingly represented in fatal house fire statistics.

“Over the last five years we have seen an increase in the number of fatal fires involving people over the age of 60.”

He said people typically had only about three minutes to escape before a house fire became unsurvivable, making early warning systems critical.

He encouraged households to ensure working smoke alarms were installed in every bedroom, hallway and living area, and urged people to help older relatives and neighbours who might not be able to install, test or replace alarms themselves.

Fire and Emergency said smoke alarms should be replaced after 10 years, with many homes still relying on alarms that were past their expiry date.

Residents are encouraged to remove alarms from their base plates and check the manufacturer or expiry date printed on the device.

The agency recommends installing long-life photoelectric smoke alarms and testing them regularly.

Ronaldson said homeowners should also use the daylight saving time change as an opportunity to review their fire escape plans, ensuring everyone knew two ways out of a house and where to meet safely in an emergency.