VIDEO: ‘Chip supper could cost lives’ warning (From Bradford Telegraph and Argus)

Bradford firemen laucnh new safety campaign

4:32pm Tuesday 2nd February 2010 in Local Video By Will Kilner

A back-to-basics approach to eating fuelled by tough economic times is partly to blame for the high number of cooking fires in Bradford, according to fire chiefs.

With many household budgets being stretched, people looking for a late-night feed have turned to the chip pan as a cheap, but potentially dangerous option, they say.

New figures show there were 155 cooking fires in Bradford last year, 34 of which were chip pan fires. Things were even worse in 2008, when Bradford experienced 62 chip pan fires.

Now fire chiefs are urging people to ditch their chip pans and take extra care when cooking as part of the Safer Life campaign.

The campaign was started at the Birkenshaw headquarters of West Yorkshire Fire & Rescue Service yesterday with a dramatic demonstration of what can happen when water is poured on a chip-pan fire.

Area Manager Brian Robson, the fire service’s senior community safety officer, said: “We have noticed that people are beginning to feel the pinch in terms of what’s in their wallets, and they are cooking more chips than before.

“A chip pan is cheap, the oil is cheap and the potatoes are cheap. But it can work out extremely expensive if you do have a fire.

“Many kitchen fires occur when people return from the pub and decide to cook their supper, or when they leave cooking unattended.”

Campaign posters have been distributed to pubs, clubs, doctors’ surgeries and shopping centres to spread the message.

e-mail: will.kilner@telegraphandargus.co.uk