People from across Burton and Swadlincote are being urged to use caution when cooking after the fire service attended five separate incidents in just five days in August.

On August 9, firefighters from Swadlincote and Kingsway, in Derby, dealt with a house fire in Clayfield Road,Repton, where cooking had been left unattended. Luckily neighbours were able to call the fire service after smoke from the incident set off a smoke alarm and alerted them. Firefighters also attended four other house fires across the county.

Steve Ratcliffe, the prevention and inclusion group manager at the fire and rescue service, said that the service wanted to make sure such fires were avoided where possible.

Mr Ratcliffe said: "We attended five separate house fires where the fire started in the kitchen. With this in mind, I urge everyone to take a moment to familiarise themselves with our kitchen fire safety advice, which can help prevent accidental fires from occurring and help protect families from the devastating consequences of a house fire."

The advice includes never leading pans unattended on the cooker and never to cook when you have been drinking.

Fire service spokesman Alex Johnson said: "More than 50 per cent of accidental fires start in the kitchen. So I am urging people to never leave cooking unattended. Don’t cook when you are tired or when you’ve been drinking alcohol – you’re more likely to forget that you’ve got cooking in the kitchen.

"Keep cookers and grills clean, if the fire starts and there is fat on your cooker, the fire is more likely to spread and become more severe. Remember to fit smoke alarms on each floor of your house.

"If you don’t have smoke alarms, nothing is going to alert you to the fire, make sure you test your smoke alarms weekly to check if they're operating okay and make sure you plan your escape. We know that people who plan their escape and know what they would do in the event of a fire are more likely to get out safely.

"And finally, if you do have a fire in your house, call the fire brigade out and stay out of the building until we arrive."

Anybody seeking further information and safety advice, visit their website online at www.derbys-fire.gov.uk

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