Kitchen fire - Dog turns hob on

Firefighters were called to a kitchen fire in Clacton in the early hours of this morning after a dog had managed to turn the hob on, causing a kitchen fire.

The residents were woken up by their smoke alarms and got out of the house, stayed out and called the Fire Service out.

On arrival, crews reported that a pan on top of the hob had caught fire and worked to put it out by 4:39am. The top of the hob suffered some fire damage.

Crew Manager Andrew Deex from Clacton Fire Station said: “Luckily, the residents had working smoke alarms to alert them quickly to this fire before it spread and we'd advise everyone to make sure they test their smoke alarms regularly. The residents did the right thing in getting out of the house, staying out and calling us out.

“I’d advise the public to switch off any appliances they don’t use at night and to keep the hob clear once you’ve finished cooking. We’ve seen pets turn on hobs before and this can reduce the risk of a house fire.”

Do you have working smoke alarms?

We want every home in Essex to benefit from having working smoke alarms on every level of their home. If you or someone you know doesn’t have working smoke alarms, we can supply them for free. Find out more at essex-fire.gov.uk/book

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Some of Clacton’s firefighters are on-call firefighters, who live or work within 5 minutes of Clacton Fire Station and are paid to protect their community.

If you live or work within 5 minutes of Clacton Fire Station, you could be an on-call firefighter. Find out more at join.essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call