Cooking causes most house fires... adding drink is a recipe for disaster

Safety visits can cut the risks

She said: “I remember the call-out came on the early hours of a winter’s morning. The snow was knee-deep, andwehadtomakeourwaytoa block of flats in treacherous conditions after reports of a person inside.

“On arrival, there was no sign of fire – that is very worrying for a firefighter as it means a slow-burning fire over a long period of time. When I went in with the crew it was so difficult to see and you lose all your senses, so you have to rely on touch and feel. That’s when I came across a fatality...my first ever.

“Visibility was so poor I couldn’t even tell at first if it was a man or woman.

“The fire had been caused by smoking and the occupant had fallen asleep, perhaps under the influence of alcohol, and his cigarette had burned down and down. It was a terrible tragedy – and an avoidable one.

“In many fires, people have also been drinking or taking medication and are sleepy.”

The majority of house fires start in the kitchen and, as the festive season approaches, firefighters are warning of the dangers of cooking while under the influence of alcohol when the risk of accidents or leaving heating pots and pans unattended on the stove or in the oven increases.

Debbie added: “The fact is that for many years cooking has been the main cause of house fires in Scotland.

“In this day and age, it is hard to believe that people still don’t have smoke alarms installed. This is something we can do free of charge through a home fire safety visit.”

Spreading the fire prevention message is an important part of recently-promoted crew manager Debbie’s job. She assists with the dayto-day running of the watch, arranges training sessions and visits in the community, and still attends 999 calls, so continues to see the “sheer devastation” caused by fire first-hand.

Her main purpose of joining the fire service was to help people, so when the fire and rescue service was recruiting retained firefighters in the Carluke area (Debbie’s hometown), she did not hesitate to apply.

For the next three years she carried a pager while working in a retail role in the town, responding to emergency call-outs as and when required.

Debbie said: “Those three years as a retained firefighter gave me an invaluable insight into the service, and prepared me for becoming a full-time firefighter.”

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Many fires are avoidable – often we find people have been drinking

To arrange a Home Fire Safety Visit you can call 0800 0731 999 , text to 80800 from your mobile phone or visit to find the number of your local fire station, or complete an online form.

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