Crews tackle house fire caused by a pan in Burntwood

Firefighters responded to reports of a house fire near Rugeley Road, Burntwood, last night (Tuesday 11 January).

Crews from Chase Terrace attended the scene at 7.30pm and located a property which was emitting smoke.

Firefighters extracted the excess smoke from the property and made the area safe.

It is understood that the fire was accidental – whereby a pan had ignited.

The occupier of the property was given fire safety advice and a thermal scan of the area was conducted prior to crews leaving.

More than 50% of the fires that we attend are caused by cooking. Distraction is the main cause of these fires, with pans and grills left to set alight because they’ve not been looked after properly.

When cooking, please consider the following safety guidelines:
• Look when you cook. Take any pans off the heat if you have to leave the room. If your pan does catch fire do not remove or attempt to extinguish it. Get out!
• Do not use a chip pan, use a thermostat controlled electric deep fat fryer instead
• Do not leave children alone in the kitchen whilst cooking with the hob or oven
• Do not place anything metallic in the microwave
• Keep electrical leads away from water and keep electrical leads and cloths away from the hob
• Avoid cooking if you have been drinking alcohol
• Keep the oven and grill clean, a build-up of fat and grease may catch fire
• Take care if wearing loose clothing as it can easily catch fire particularly when using the hob
• When you have finished cooking, double check that you have turned off the oven
Do not use matches or lighters to light gas cookers. Spark devices are safer.