Safety campaign launched as hundreds of South Yorkshire house fires found to be cooking related

A new safety campaign has been launched to reduce cooking-related house fires in South Yorkshire, with over 230 dealt with last year.
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New figures, released by South Yorkshire Fire and Rescue, show that almost half of all house fires across South Yorkshire last year started in the kitchen.

There were 491 house fires reported in the county last year.

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Fire chiefs are now urging people to ‘stand by your pan’ to avoid a kitchen fire disaster.

Firefighters in action (Photo: Tim Ansell/ SYFRS)Firefighters in action (Photo: Tim Ansell/ SYFRS)
Firefighters in action (Photo: Tim Ansell/ SYFRS)

As part of the campaign, officers are also asking people not to cook after consuming alcohol and, instead, to get a takeaway.

“Public awareness and safety around house fires has increased dramatically in recent years but one bad habit we haven’t quite kicked, yet, is leaving cooking unattended,” said Group Manager Matt Gillatt, deputy head of the joint police and fire community safety team.

“Pretty much every kitchen fire we attend originates from an oven or hob and, generally, the fires have started because something has been left on.

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“Examples range from a cooker being left to pre-heat to somebody falling asleep whilst their food is cooking and, whilst we know it’s not usually intentional, fire happens fast.

“We don’t expect people to stare at their food whilst it cooks and clearly pre-heating an oven is fairly standard, this isn’t an issue.

“What’s an issue is where people leave the kitchen entirely and either forget that the cooker is on or get distracted with something else, such as the TV or having a quick shower.

“What’s also an issue is where people get in the kitchen and start cooking having had something to drink – this is never a good idea and often ends up in the worst kind of fires.”

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He added: “Our message is really clear – don’t leave cooking unattended and don’t cook drunk. This isn’t just about reducing pressure on us, it’s about keeping yourself safe.

“What people often don’t realise is that getting hurt is just one risk when it comes to kitchen fires – very often you can escape harm but be left with a huge bill for redecorating.”

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