Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 15/06/2009 15:41

Cornwall County Fire Brigade’s kitchen safety campaign saw a significant reduction in the number of kitchen fires attended by the brigade earlier this year.

The campaign, which was held in February coincided with National Chip Week and involved community fire stations across the county.

In 2007/08 the brigade attended a total of 339 private residence fires in Cornwall of which 183 were kitchen fires. This compares to 288 private residence fires in 2008/09 of which 154 were kitchen fires.

In an effort to educate as many people as possible and to help prevent these fires happening in the future, the brigade held free kitchen safety demonstrations, using portable chip pan displays, at a number of venues throughout Cornwall.

Dave Carlisle, Station Manager Community Safety, says “Fires in the home are preventable, after all no one intends to have a kitchen fire. By simply taking extra care when in the kitchen, not leaving food cooking unattended and ensuring grill pans are kept free from the build up of grease and fat, we can make our homes safer for our families. Prevention is the key to safe cooking and a safer home”.

The results from the campaign show that, by targeting kitchen safety in particular, the brigade saw a reduction in the number of kitchen fires it attended from 39 in February and March 2008 when no targeted campaign was undertaken, to 19 during the kitchen safety campaign in February and March 2009.

Chief Fire Officer, Des Tidbury, adds “This campaign yet again proves the benefits of pro-active and properly targeted safety initiatives by our firefighters in reducing risk in our communities.”

“There is no doubt in my mind that the only way to really guarantee reducing deaths and injuries from fire is to prevent the accidents happening in the first place.”

Figures also show that as a result of the excellent work of Cornwall’s firefighters, the county has seen a significant reduction of cooking related fires; with 89 incidents attended in 2008/09 compared to 127 in 2007/08.

The brigade remains committed to continuing in its quest to drive down cooking related fires and intends to hold a further Cooking Safety Campaign in August.

Whilst the brigade is delighted at the success of the campaign, smoke alarm ownership still remains a concern as 42% of private residences which have a kitchen fire do not have a smoke alarm. The brigade cannot stress enough the importance of installing fire alarms in private households and even offer free ‘home safety fire checks’. Further information can be obtained from the council’s website or from your local fire station.

In the event of a pan catching fire, Cornwall County Fire Brigade’s top tips are:

· Don’t take any risks. Turn off the heat if it’s safe to do so. Never throw water over it.

· Don’t tackle the fire yourself.

· GET OUT, STAY OUT, DIAL 999

For more information visit the related link below, which takes you to our pages on fire safety in the home.

Related item: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=7275