Unattended cooking causes kitchen fire
A flat has been left uninhabitable after cooking was left unattended and caught alight.
Firefighters were called to reports of smoke coming out of a flat near Western Esplanade, Canvey at 1.35pm this afternoon.
When crews arrived they found a fire in the kitchen.
The block of flats was evacuated – and a man and his dog were rescued through a first floor window and down a ladder.
Two crews wearing breathing apparatus entered the flat and used hose reel jets to extinguish the fire.
Group Manager Steve Osborn said: "The crews did a great job to get residents out of the block safely and extinguish the fire quickly to stop it from spreading into other rooms."
Cooking safety
Please follow our safety advice for cooking safely:
- Take care when cooking with oil - it gets very got and can set alight easily
- Don't leave cooking unattended, and never leave the house while the oven or hob is in use
- Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob. Keep matches and saucepan handles out of their reach to keep them safe
- 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
Have you got a smoke alarm and is it in date?
If you or someone you know doesn’t have any working smoke alarms at home, we can fit them for free. Please get in touch with our team here.
Is your smoke alarm older than 10 years?
We're urging homeowners to replace their smoke alarms every 10 years, regardless of their power source.
Home owners of properties built between 1992 and 2014 are particularly being urged to check their smoke alarms, as all newly built houses from 1992 legally had to have mains-wired smoke alarms installed. Coupled with the misconception that you don't have to change mains-wired smoke alarms, there could be thousands of people living in Essex without effective smoke alarms.
To make sure your home is as safe as possible from fire, you can book a free home safety visit online here: www.essex-fire.gov.uk/book
