Firefighters are urging South Tyneside residents to cook safely as National Chip Week kicks off (15-21 February).
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service will be visiting a variety of locations in South Tyneside including Horsley Hill, Hebburn, Jarrow and the Nook next week offering safe cooking tips and showing just how dangerous a chip pan fire can be using a special chip pan demonstration.
Across Tyne and Wear in *2008-9, there were 476 kitchen fires, 107 of these were caused by chip pans.
Watch Manager James Ferguson, Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service, said: “We recommend that people don't use chip pans at all. However, if you do cook chips in a traditional pan, it is important to take extra care. Chip pan fires are an all too regular occurrence, and quite often all you need is an interruption like a telephone call or someone calling at your door. As you answer, the pan can be gently bubbling away and forgotten about - and before you know it the pan is ablaze.
“Chip pan fires are a prime example of where we can make major improvements through education, which is why we're visiting these busy locations. There will be plenty of young and older people alike, who may be going home to cook their chips that evening. Our chip pan trailer demonstration graphically illustrates just how quickly and vigorously a fire can develop if fat is left to overheat and what happens when someone tries to tackle it."
Tyne and Wear Fire and Rescue Service recommends that people don't use chip pans at all, but if you must cook chips in a traditional chip pan, you should follow the simple fire safety tips below - not just during National Chip Week, but all year round.
Safety tips:
• Never leave a chip pan unattended.
• Don’t overfill a chip pan with oil - never fill it more than one-third full.
• Don’t cook after drinking alcohol.
• Don’t take risks by tackling a fire. Get out, stay out and dial 999.
• Don’t throw water on a chip pan fire.
• In the event of a fire, have an escape route in place.
• Get a 10-year battery smoke alarm and test it regularly.
Here are some alternative ways to enjoy chips:
• Choose oven chips instead. Not only are they safer to cook but they’re lower in fat too.
• Microwave them. It’s quick and easy
• Instead of cooking chips at home, buy a portion of chips from the local chip shop
• Buy a thermostically controlled deep fat fryer and ditch the chip pan. They are safer to use!
James continued: “Our aim is to make Tyne and Wear residents as safe from fire as possible and through our innovative approach to prevention and education we are starting to see a drop in these types of fires. We carry out a range of initiatives to make people safer in their homes, such as offering home safety checks to people who are most at risk of fire, including fitting free smoke alarms, offering fire safety advice and exchanging chip pans for thermostatically controlled deep fat fryers.
"However, one chip pan fire is still too many. We hope that by encouraging people to take due care and attention with chip pans, we will continue to see a reduction in these preventable, but often devasting accidents.”
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