Yesterday, (Monday, 4 June) evening Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue Service firefighters attended two cooking-related incidents.
At 5.39pm, a call was received to reports of a fire at a property on Cheviot Road in Slough.
Royal Berkshire Fire and Rescue crews from Langley and Windsor Fire Stations were sent to the scene.
Crews found a fire in the kitchen so two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a fire extinguisher to put out the fire. Crews treated one woman for smoke inhalation, before placing them into the care of South Central Ambulance Service (SCAS). Crews were at the scene for around one hour and 10 minutes.
A firefighter, Benjamin Martin-Stone, who was off-duty at the time spotted smoke from down the road. He said: “I heard a smoke alarm going off and saw smoke coming out of all the windows of the property.
“I ran down to the flat where I met a lady outside who said her kitchen is on fire. I went inside the property to make sure everyone had evacuated and I could see the fire had started by a chip pan in the oven. By this time the fire service hadn’t been called so I reported it.”
“In the event of a fire, make sure that you get everyone out of the property and call the emergency services as soon as possible. It is important that you don’t try and tackle the fire yourself and don’t put water on a fire started by oil.”
The second call was received at 7.30pm to reports of a fire at a property on Upton Court Road in Slough.
Crews from Slough and Langley Fire Stations were sent to the scene.
Similarly to the first call the crews found a fire in the kitchen, so two firefighters wearing breathing apparatus used a hose reel to extinguish the fire. A man was treated for smoke inhalation before being placed into the care of the SCAS. Crews were on the scene for around 50 minutes.
Mike Humphries, Station Manager Learning and Development, who attended both of the incidents, said: “When you’re in the kitchen make sure you don’t get distracted and leave cooking unattended. We always urge our residents to keep your oven, hob and grill clean to prevent a build up of grease and oil.”
“Often cooking fire safety can be underestimated, but these two incidents provide a timely reminder of the importance of staying safe when preparing meals for you and your loved ones.”
For more information on how to protect you, your family and your home from a kitchen-related fire click here.