Westcliff chip pan fire: Fire service warning over no smoke alarms

Fire crews were called to a kitchen in Westcliff Parade, Westcliff at 9.41pm last night to the unattended chip pan which had overheated and caught fire.

Crew Manager Adam Patterson said: "The occupant got distracted after putting the chip pan on and it caught fire.

"The occupant was only alerted to the fire due to the electrics tripping which turned the television off.

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"The property also did not have any working smoke alarms - if it did, the occupant would have been alerted much earlier which would have enabled us to be called quicker and the damage to be much less.

"Smoke alarms save lives - they give you an early warning of a fire so you can get out, stay out and call the fire service out.

"If you don't have working smoke alarms, we can fit them completely free of charge."

The fire service has issued safety advice for using chip pans and cooking with oil:

• Take care when cooking with hot oil – it sets alight easily
• Never leave cooking unattended
• Make sure food is dry before putting it in hot oil so it doesn’t splash
• If the oil starts to smoke – it’s too hot.  Turn off the heat and leave it to cool
• Use a thermostat controlled electric deep fat fryer. They can’t overheat
• If your pan catches fire, turn off the heat if it is safe to do so. Never throw water or a damp tea towel over it

Visit www.essex-fire.gov.uk/book.