Thursday 9 September
22.28 St Peter’s House, Jacobs Wells Road, Hotwells,
Bristol
A man and a woman have been taken to hospital after a fire in a
seven-storey building used as flats.
When firefighters arrived on the scene they found the fire in
the kitchen of a flat on the fifth floor was already out. However,
two people were injured as a result.
It appears a woman in her 60s, who lives in the flat, had a left
a chip pan on unattended and gone upstairs. The pan had then caught
fire.
Fortunately the property was fitted with a working smoke
detector, which was activating and heard by a neighbour. The
neighbour had a key to the flat and let another neighbour inside, a
man in his 50s.
He then went upstairs, found the woman and alerted her to the
fire. He then went into the kitchen to deal with the fire and moved
the chip pan into the sink. As the pan was extremely hot, he
suffered burns to his face and hands and was treated by
firefighters at the scene.
In the meantime, the woman, who was on her way out of the
property, had fallen and was suffering from head and back
injuries.
Another neighbour also ran into the property with a dry powder
extinguisher and put the fire out.
Both the man with burns and the female resident were taken to
hospital.
Avon Fire & Rescue Service would like to remind people never
to leave cooking unattended as it can lead to fire breaking out and
never to try and tackle a fire. Get out, stay out and call 999.
Leave it to the professionals who have the right protective
clothing and equipment to deal with fire.
A fire involving a chip pan can get very hot. Never try to move
the pan, as burns and scalds can last a lifetime. Never throw water
on to a pan of oil on fire as this will only make it worse.
Fortunately in this case the property was fitted with working
smoke alarms, which were heard by the neighbour. Avon Fire &
Rescue Service would like to remind people about the importance of
having a working smoke alarm in your property as it can provide an
early warning sign that fire has broken out and give occupants
extra minutes to escape.
Cooking safety leaflet
Smoke alarm care fire safety
leaflet