Kitchen fire: is your hob kept clear?

Firefighters have urged people to make sure they keep their hobs clean and clear after a kitchen fire in Colchester this afternoon.

When crews arrived at the property, the kitchen was heavily smoke-logged. A slow cooker had been placed on the hob - and when the hob was accidentally turned on, the slow cooker caught fire.

Fortunately, smoke alarms sounded and the occupants managed to close the kitchen door to prevent the fire from spreading further, before getting out of the property safely.

Ian Ryder, Watch Manager at Colchester Fire Station, said: "Using your hob as a storage area or a worktop can be tempting, but please never take the chance.

"Whether it's washing, tea towels or even items like a slow cooker in this case, it's incredibly easy to accidentally turn your hob on. If that happens and something is on top of it, a kitchen fire is inevitable - so please, keep your hob and oven clean and clear of clutter at all times.

"Thankfully the family in this home did the right thing as soon as they were alerted by their smoke alarm - they got out, stayed out and called the fire service out."

Fortunately, no one was injured and the damage was restricted to the kitchen.