Firefighters urge residents to keep safe in their kitchens after house fire

Fire crews are urging residents to keep safe in their kitchens following a house fire.

Fire fighters were called at 8.37am on Thursday (9 September) to Victoria Street in Basford following reports of a plume of smoke issuing from a property.

Crews from Newcastle and Hanley attended and discovered a fire in an address.

Two male casualties were rescued from the property.

They declined medical treatment at the scene.

Firefighters used one hose reel jet and two breathing apparatus to extinguish the fire.

Crews left the scene at 9.52am.

The fire was later deemed accidental as a result of unattended cooking.

To avoid a fire in the home, it’s really important that we pay close attention to the food we are cooking and ‘look when we cook’ otherwise the consequences could be fatal.

Fire fighters’ top tips for being safe in the kitchen are:

• 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 lose 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.

To find out more, watch our kitchen safety video here: