House fire in Leighton caused by cooking

One of the incidents was a cooker fire in Russell Way, Leighton Buzzard at 6.30pm on Friday, April 22.

When firefighters from Leighton Buzzard Community Fire Station arrived they found there was a fire in the ground floor kitchen of a semi-detached property.

Wearing breathing apparatus to protect themselves from smoke and fumes they fought the fire with a fire hose and a covering jet, using a thermal image camera to assist.

The cooker fire was caused accidentally and positive pressure ventilation was used to clear smoke from the property after it was extinguished. The incident was closed at 7.02pm.

The other cooking incidents were in Luton on Thursday (April 21) and Saturday (April 23), plus in Bedford on Thursday (April 21).

The fire service has urged the public to take care when cooking as small fires can quickly turning in big fires and cause serious damage and injury. Follow these tips to stay safe in the kitchen:

• Always take pans off the heat or turn them down to avoid the risk of fire if you need to leave the kitchen whilst cooking.

• If a pan catches fire, don’t take any risks – Get Out, Stay Out, and Call 999.

• When you’ve finished cooking double check the hob is completely off.

• Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob.

• Take care if you’re wearing loose clothing – this can easily catch fire.

• Keep matches and saucepan handles out of children’s reach and don’t leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking.

• Keep electrical leads and appliances away from water

• Place grills and hot pans away from curtains and kitchen rolls.

• A build-up of fat and grease can ignite a fire so keep kitchen equipment clean and in good working order.

• Never cook after drinking alcohol.

• Be careful that hot cooking oil doesn’t overheat as it can catch fire easily.

• Never throw water on a chip pan fire.

• In the event of a fire, have an escape plan in place.

• Get a smoke alarm and test it weekly.

For more information on fire safety, visit www.facebook.com/firekills or the Cooking Safety page of the Bedfordshire Fire and Rescue Website at: bit.ly/1L4Mzbj