Firefighters will serve up advice to people in Chichester on how to stay safe in the kitchen as part of a month of awareness for cooking fires.
West Sussex Fire and Rescue Service (WSFRS) were called to 317 fires that started in the kitchen last year – the source of ignition for 52 per cent of these was the cooker and therefore it is recommend that that you do not leave your cooking unattended.
Firefighters will be running dedicated events at Bunnings, Chichester on Saturday 24 February. Kieran Amos, assistant chief fire officer, said: “Kitchen fires make up a large majority of the incidents that our crews attend. Reducing the number of these fires remains a high priority for the service. Therefore, we are urging residents to remain vigilant and take extra care when cooking.
“The two most important pieces of advice that we can give are: never leave your cooking unattended and make sure you have working smoke alarms on each level of your property that you test weekly.”
Last year, around 40 per cent of kitchen fires that WSFRS attended, involved those who were aged 65 and older, and most of these were people living alone.
“If you know someone that lives on their own, perhaps a relative or a neighbour, we’re encouraging you to check that they have working smoke alarms in their property and to ensure that they are living in a safe environment. Working smoke alarms really do save lives.”
