Fire in Colchester flat

Firefighters were called to a flat fire in Colchester last night (12 September) after a neighbour heard smoke alarms going off and called the Fire Service.

On arrival, two crews from Colchester reported that the kitchen in a first floor flat was smoke logged.

Crews extinguished the fire by 10:22pm and believe it was caused by cooking left unattended on a hob.

More than half of accidental fires at home are started by cooking .

Firefighters are offering this advice to stay safe in your kitchen:

Take care if you need to leave the kitchen while cooking. Take pans off the heat or turn them down to avoid risk

Avoid leaving children in the kitchen alone when cooking on the hob. Keep matches and saucepan handles out of their reach to keep them safe

Make sure saucepan handles don’t stick out – so they don’t get knocked off the stove

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

Keep tea towels and cloths away from the cooker and hob

Double check the cooker is off when you’ve finished cooking

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