Kentish Express Ashford & District
Family flee after chip pan ignites
An Ashford mum and her two children were lucky to escape a kitchen blaze after a chip pan caught light.
Firefighters were called to the ground floor flat in Towers View, Kennington at around 10.55pm last Thursday.
Two engines spent around an hour and a half extinguishing the blaze, which caused ‘quite a bit’ of a damage to the house.
A mother was given oxygen therapy for the affects of breathing in smoke after trying to tackle the blaze herself and two children were also checked over .
A spokesman for Kent Fire & Rescue Service said: “Luckily the smoke alarm alerted the resident and they were able to get out.
“There was quite a bit of damage. Let’s just say it will defi- nitely need redecorating.”
This incident follows a similar fire at a house in Swanley earlier in the evening at 6.28pm, which also involved an unattended chip pan.
Community safety manager Charlie Smith said: “It is believed that distraction played a major part in both of these fires.
“It is so easy to get diverted and walk away from your cooking, but as these incidents highlight, kitchen fires can be devastating, putting you and your family at risk and causing damage to your home.
“I would urge people to take extra care not to leave cooking unattended, and opt for a thermostat-controlled deep fat fryer or oven chips instead of using an open pan, as hot oil can overheat and ignite very easily and can spread extremely quickly.
“If you must use a chip pan please follow our chip pan safety advice and in the event of a fire involving oil, never attempt to put it out with water.
“The advice is to turn off the heat if it is safe to do so, get you and your family out of the property immediately, closing the doors behind you, and call 999.
“It is also vital to have a working smoke alarm fitted on each floor of you home to provide early warning in the event of a fire.”
For further safety advice visit www.kent.fire-uk.org or call 0800 923 7000.