Incident highlights recent killer kitchen warnings
23 July 2010
A fire in Folkestone, which forced residents
to leave their flats, has reinforced a recent message issued by
firefighters warning Shepway residents to change their careless
kitchen habits.
Local crews were called to the second floor flat in Brockman
Road just before 9.30pm yesterday (22 July), following reports of a
kitchen fire.
Once at the scene, firefighters were met by the two women who
lived in the flat, who advised that their chip pan had caught
light. Shortly afterwards, a team of firefighters entered the
building wearing breathing apparatus and extinguished the fire
before ventilating the flat and carrying out a salvage
operation.
Folkestone Watch Manager Mick Smith said: "After we extinguished
the fire and cleared the smoke, it was apparent what had happened;
the two women had been cooking with hot oil, when they the left the
pan on the hob to do other things.
"Soon after the pan ignited and activated the smoke alarm
systems. On investigating the reason behind the smoke alarm
sounding, the pair discovered the fire in the kitchen and attempted
to move the pan, splashing the burning oil on to their washing
machine and melting it in the process. The washing machine then
began to flood the kitchen - causing damage to the flat below - and
the pair left the building."
This incident follows the recent release of new figures that
reveal that nearly a third of the county’s home fires are cooking
related*.
Over the last three years (April 2007 – March 2010) there have
been 43 cooking fires in Shepway, resulting in seven of the
district’s residents having to be rescued by firefighters after
they were unable to escape and nine people have been badly hurt. As
well as the injuries sustained during these fires, victims have
also faced destruction to their homes and cherished belongings.
Mick concluded: "The kitchen is central to many homes, but what
most of us don’t realise is that the kitchen can be one of the most
dangerous places in the home.
"Overheated oil in chip pans, deep fat fryers or dirty ovens and
grill pans along with unattended cooking are the main cause of
cooking fires. People do get hurt as a result of these types of
incidents, particularly when they try to tackle fire themselves.
Thankfully the women managed to escape unharmed, although their
home - and that of their neighbours - has been left badly damaged
due to their carelessness."
By following the simple fire prevention advice below, you can
enjoy cooking safely:
Cooking safely
- Don't leave pans unattended. Take them off the heat if you have
to leave the room. Fire starts when your attention stops.
- Turn saucepan handles so they don't stick out from the
hob.
- Keep the oven door shut. When you've finished cooking, make
sure the cooker or oven is turned off.
Chip pans/Deep frying
- Dry the food before you put it in oil
- Never fill the pan more than one-third full of oil
- If the oil starts to smoke, it's too hot. Turn off the heat and
leave it to cool.
- Use a thermostatically controlled electric deep-fat fryer. They
can't overheat.
- Never pour water on hot fat.
If a fire occurs
- Tackling fire is a job best left to professional firefighters.
If you discover a fire, get out of the house, shutting the door on
the fire if possible and dial 999. Leave your pets, firefighters
will rescue them.
Get equipped
- Smoke alarms can give you and your neighbours an early warning
should a fire start. This means that the fire service can be called
as quickly as possible, minimising the damage and life risk.
- Fit smoke alarms on every floor of your home and test the
batteries once a week.
- DO NOT take the battery out of your smoke alarm if it goes off
unnecessarily when cooking. Fit an optical smoke alarm near to the
kitchen as this will not keep going off while cooking.
If you would like any further information on fire safety in the
home, please call our freephone number 0800 923 7000
ENDS
*KFRS figures for April 2008 to March 2009 show that out of 760
accidental dwelling fires attended 231 were cooking related.