Dangers of unattended cooking highlighted

Dangers of unattended cooking highlighted

Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Service is urging people not to leave cooking unattended following a series of incidents over the past 24 hours.

There were four reports of kitchen fires – two of which led to residents suffering smoke inhalation – and all of them could have been avoided.

In Highfield Road, Salford, a fire started in a grill at around 00.25am after a woman fell asleep. Fortunately she had a smoke alarm that woke her up and she managed to get herself and her pets out safely.

Just half an hour earlier crews were called to Como Walk, Gorton, where there was a fire involving a grill pan. The occupier had put food on and then got distracted by a phone conversation. A passer-by spotted smoke, alerted the resident and called 999. The occupier was given oxygen after suffering the effects of smoke.

In Leigh a resident started cooking and then went out, leaving the pan on, which started a fire. When crews arrived at the flat in Chapel Street, Leigh, at around 12.15pm, the fire had spread and the kitchen was left badly damaged by smoke.

A woman and three children had a lucky escape after a fire involving a toaster. The 31-year-old had put the toast on but then became distracted, not realising the toaster was on a high setting. By the time she realised there was a problem, there was a lot of smoke in the kitchen and the smoke alarm was sounding. She managed to get herself and her three children (all under the age of seven) out of the property in Willan Road, Eccles, before crews arrived at around 9.55am.

Councillor David Acton, Chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, said: “Thankfully, the people involved in these incidents escaped without serious injury, but they have still been left with damage to their homes which they will now have to get sorted.

"Sixty per cent of house fires start in the kitchen - usually as a result of somebody being distracted, even for just a few seconds. You should never leave cooking unattended, even to answer the door."

For further advice on fire safety in the kitchen, visit www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/fire_safety_advice/home_fire_safety/safety_in_kitchen.aspx