Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

St Peters Street, St Ives at 29/11/2008 01:07

Firefighters from St Ives were mobilised, along with police and ambulance, to a report from a neighbour of a smoke alarm sounding, smoke inside a property and someone could be heard coughing.

On arrival the crews dealt with a small fire in the kitchen using a dry powder fire extinguisher. The occupant was left in care of ambulance personnel suffering smoke inhalation.

Had it not have been for the smoke alarm alerting a neighbour to this fire, then the consequences could have been tragic.

General Fire Safety Advice:
Fires happen when you least expect them, often during the night. They also spread very quickly, damaging property, killing and injuring people. Smoke alarms are essential for every home.

Cook safely
Most kitchen fires occur when people are distracted or leave things unattended, so remember:

if you're called away from the cooker - by the phone or someone at the door, for example - take pans off the heat
don't let yourself be distracted while cooking
don't cook if you're affected by alcohol or prescription drugs
turn saucepans so that their handles don't stick out (and aren't over another ring)
don't put oven gloves or tea-towels down onto the hot cooker after you've used them
clean your grill pan after using it

Related item: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=40428