Family have lucky escape from chip pan blaze

A family had a lucky escape from a chip pan fire at a house on Hartsop Drive, Middleton.
Three adults and a baby managed to escape the house after one of the residents spotted the blaze at 3.44am today, Sunday 28 April.

Two firefighters in breathing apparatus extinguished the chip pan and crews used a high pressure fan to clear smoke from the property.

The child was taken to hospital as a precaution

Fire crew watch manager Steve Jordan, who was in charge of the incident, said: “It was the classic case of coming home intoxicated and putting some chips on.

“The family were extremely lucky because they had no working smoke alarm in their house and the fire was spotted – it could have been far worse.

“One of the residents went back to the chip pan and took it outside. You should never go back to a chip pan that is on fire – get out, stay out and call us out.

Chairman of Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, Councillor David Acton, added: “Chip pans are incredibly dangerous and the fires they cause often have devastating consequences.

“If you have a chip pan get rid of it and replace it with a safer way of cooking like a thermostatically controlled deep fat fryer or oven chips.”