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Incident Date: 01 February 2012

TWO cooking fires led to firefighters in Wigan and Tameside being called out on Wednesday evening.

Firefighters from Leigh Fire Station were called out to after a pan of food caught fire at a house on Warlow Drive, Leigh, at 5.20pm on Wednesday, February 1.

Crews from Hindley, Atherton and Leigh fire stations went out to the blaze.

A 28-year-old woman managed to put the fire out before firefighters arrived using a tea towel and, suffering shock from the ordeal, was treated by paramedics at the scene.

The crews carried out a Home Safety Check and fitted a smoke alarm for the woman.

At 5.45pm the same evening, firefighters from Stalybridge, Chadderton and Hyde fire stations were called to a blaze in the kitchen of a house on Water Street, Audenshaw.

A pan of food caught fire when it was left on a gas cooker.

Firefighters forced their way into the house with a door ram and a sledgehammer and two of the crew in breathing apparatus extinguished the fire with a hose reel.

A 66-year-old woman was suffering from shock and was seen by paramedics at the scene.

Councillor David Acton, Chairman of the Greater Manchester Fire and Rescue Authority, said: "So many of the fires we are called to start in the kitchen through a tiny lapse in concentration.

"February is Cooking Safety Month but its always important to never leave cooking unattended, even to answer the phone or the door. Serious fires can start when you are distracted, even for a few seconds."

Cooking Safety Advice

• Never leave cooking unattended - even to answer the phone or the door - serious fires can start when distracted, even for a few seconds.
• When cooking fried food, dry it before putting it in hot oil. If the oil starts to smoke, turn off the heat and leave the pan to cool. Never fill the pan more than one-third full of oil. Never throw water over the pan.

Smoke Alarms

• Your first line of defence should be a smoke alarm. If there is a fire, a smoke alarm will immediately warn you, giving you and everyone in your home time to escape to safety.
• Fit smoke alarms on the ceiling on each floor in your home - the best places are top of the staircase, stair landing and between living and sleeping areas (do not fit them in the kitchen).
• Do NOT REMOVE THE BATTERIES - if your smoke alarm keeps going off it might be too close to the kitchen.

For more advice about safety in the kitchen go to www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/fire_safety_advice/home_fire_safety/safety_in_kitchen.aspx  

For a free Home Fire Safety Check called GMFRS on 0800 555 815 or visit www.manchesterfire.gov.uk/fire_safety_advice/home_fire_risk_assessments.aspx 

Last update: 02/02/2012 09:46:00