Firefighters urge people to take care in the kitchen after being called to two cooking fires in fifteen minutes

Photo: Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service

Greater Manchester Fire & Rescue Service

Firefighters are urging residents to be safe in the kitchen after being called to two cooking fires in the space of fifteen minutes on Monday (25 November).

More than half of accidental fires in the home start because of something to do with cooking and residents are being urged to take extra care to help keep themselves safe and reduce the need for crews to attend this kind of incident.

Crews were called to a flat in Ramsden Road, Wardle at 3.22pm on 25 November to reports of a kitchen fire.

Crews attended and found a fire in a first floor flat, which had started after someone left a toaster on top of an oven hob and turned the hob on by mistake. Fortunately, when the occupant noticed the flames they closed the kitchen door, preventing it from spreading further before exiting the property.

Three fire engines from Rochdale and Littleborough attended the scene and extinguished the fire using one hose reel, two breathing apparatus and a positive pressure ventilation fan. Crews were in attendance for around one hour.

GMFRS was then called at 3.35pm to another kitchen fire in Mango Place, Salford. Firefighters attended and found a fire involving a pan of food in the kitchen of a semi-detached property.

GMFRS Head of Prevention, Damian O’Rourke, said: “Many of the incidents we attend start in the kitchen and I would urge all of our residents to take extra care when cooking.

“Fortunately nobody was injured at any of these incidents but they are a timely reminder of why being safe in the kitchen is so important.

“I would especially urge people to never leave cooking unattended, to take extra care when cooking with hot oil and to never leave children alone in the kitchen when the hob or oven is on.”

Kitchen fire safety advice includes:

• Never leave cooking unattended
• Take extra care when cooking with hot oil
• Never leave children alone in the kitchen when the hob or oven is on
• Keep your oven, hob and grill clean. A build up of fat and grease can easily catch fire
• Turn off electrical appliances when they are not being used and service them regularly
• When deep frying, always dry the food before you put it in the oil
• Swap your chip pan for an electric deep fat fryer - thermostatically controlled electrical deep fat fryers that plug into the wall are much safer to use
• Always make sure you have a working smoke alarm installed.

If your pan catches fire:

• Don't panic and don't take risks
• Don't move the pan
• Never throw water or use a water fire extinguisher on a hot fat fire
• If it's safe to do so - turn off the heat, but never lean over the pan to reach the controls
• Leave the kitchen, close the door behind you, tell everyone else in the home to get out and don't go back inside for any reason
• Call 999