Kitchen fire in Southend

Crews were called to a fire in a flat on Sutton Road, Southend last night, when cooking was left unattended and caught alight.

Firefighters were called to a fire in property in Southend at 8:50pm, when a neighbour heard a smoke alarm.

On arrival, crews confirmed that there was a fire in the kitchen, which had been caused by a tray covered in oil which was left on the hob unattended, and the property was heavily smoke-logged.

Firefighters used dry powder to extinguish the fire by 9:09pm.

Watch Manager at Southend Fire Station, Dan Trendell, said “This is a great example of how smoke alarms can alert neighbours to a fire in your home when you’re out. We’re urging Essex residents to make sure they have at least one working smoke alarm on every level of their homes, and to test them at least once a month.

“Fortunately, the crews were able to extinguish the fire quickly, preventing additional damage to the property.”

Please follow our safety advice for cooking safely:

• Take care when cooking with oil - it gets very got and can set alight easily
• If oil does catch fire, never use water. Get out, stay out and call 999.
• Never leave cooking unattended or leave the house while the open or hob is in use
• Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob. 
• Make sure saucepan handles don’t stick out – so they don’t get knocked off the stove
• Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob
• Double check the cooker is off when you’ve finished cooking
   

Could you be an on-call firefighter?

Firefighters from Rochford are on-call Firefighters, who all live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station and attend incidents.

If you live or work within 5 minutes of an on-call fire station, you could be an on-call firefighter too.

Find out more about the role at essex-fire.gov.uk/on-call