FIRE chiefs have issued a safety warning after crews were called to two separate pan fires in Bradford during the same night shift.

In one of the incidents, a man required treatment for smoke inhalation after neighbours were forced to raise the alarm when a pan caught fire on a cooker hob.

The second call-out involved a chip pan that had caught fire after the owner was said to have started cooking and then fallen asleep.

West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service has dealt with 910 fires caused by some form of cooking, including 190 chip pan fires, since 2009/10.

Sally Evers, watch commander at Odsal, whose crew attended both incidents along with firefighters from Bradford, said: "We haven't had an incident involving a chip pan for a while, and it looked as though we were finally getting the safety message across.

"They are obviously still in use though, and people need to be aware of the dangers."

The first incident took place at about 9pm yesterday when a chip pan caught fire and caused smoke damage to a flat in Bowling Old Lane.

Fire crews said they believed the man had fallen asleep while cooking, but said he had made his way outside the property by the time they arrived.

In the second incident, which took place shortly before 3am today, residents in Kingswood Street in Little Horton dialled 999 when they saw smoke coming from a neighbouring house and couldn't alert the man inside.

Crews said a small fire had been caused by a pan that had been left on a hot hob.

One resident, who did not want to be named, said: "I woke at 2am and could smell smoke in my house.

"The smoke alarm in that house was going off, and I was banging on the door.

"When there was no answer, I phoned the fire brigade.

"He must have been out for the count. If we hadn't of woken him up, he could have died."

Fire crews requested an ambulance for the man to be checked out, and said he was taken to hospital to receive treatment for smoke inhalation.

In both incidents, Mrs Evers said the men were "lucky to get out in time".

As part of their safety guidelines, West Yorkshire Fire Service advises people to take pans off the heat if they are forced to leave the kitchen while cooking.

If frying food, oil must be watched to ensure if doesn't overheat and start to smoke, increasing its chances of catching fire.

The brigade also maintains a general warning against any doing sort of cooking after drinking alcohol.

Thomas Rhodes, its Bradford district prevention manager, said: “The smallest distraction when using a pan could lead to a fire in a matter of moments.

"If you do choose to deep fat fry, please don’t leave the pan unattended.

"If your pan does catch light, don’t throw water over it – get out, stay out, and call 999."