Cornwall Fire & Rescue Service Newsdesk

at 26/08/2009 13:33

10 am to 4 pm, St Johns Hall, Penzance Friday 28 August.

Cornwall County Fire Brigade is mounting a two pronged initiative - to help cut down on the number of fire incidents in the kitchen and to encourage healthy eating.

Firefighters will be dispensing practical fire safety advice which will specifically target the prevention of chip and grill pan fires from 10 am to 4 pm at St Johns Hall in Penzance on Friday 28 August.

In Cornwall, in the period between April 2005 and April 2008, over half of all dwelling fires started in the kitchen, with over 70% of these being attributed to a cooking appliance such as chip pan or grill.

The event at St Johns Hall will include the screening of a video to demonstrate the potential danger from a chip pan fire with firefighters on hand to talk about home fire safety and the importance of remembering a few golden rules when using a chip pan including

Never fill a chip pan (or other deep-fat fryer) more than one-third full of oil
Never leave the pan unattended when the heat is switched on
Never put the food in the pan if the oil begins to give off smoke.
Turn off the heat and leave the oil to cool, otherwise it could catch fire
Consider using a thermostatically controlled deep-fat fryer - this will ensure that the fat does not get too hot

If your pan does catch fire:

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 and call 999!
Whatever you do, don't throw water over the fire and don't move the pan, the effects can be devastating.
If you are in any doubt about whether to try and put out a chip pan fire yourself, then don't - leave the room, close the door and call the Fire Brigade.

The Fire Brigade will also be distributing information about cooking methods and kitchen hygiene to help promote a healthier lifestyle.

Chief Fire Officer & Head of Community Safety Des Tidbury said: “It is an important part of the Brigade’s work to get out and involve the community to drive down cooking related fires. Events such as this one and others in the pipeline raise the profile and awareness of cooking safely and help protect our communities from the tragic effects of fire”.

Speaking of the initiative, Cornwall Council cabinet member for Stronger Communities, Lance Kennedy, said: “It’s great to see the service working to promote not only safety messages, but messages of health and wellbeing as well.”

Station Manager, Community Safety Dave Carlisle said: “Our aim is to educate members of the public to cook safely and hygienically which in turn should reduce domestic dwelling fires and improve people’s health and wellbeing”.

Related item: http://www.cornwall.gov.uk/default.aspx?page=7339