Plaistow man saves family after stopping chip pan fire from spreading

Else Kvist, Reporter Thursday, November 1, 2012
11:01 AM

A man has been praised by firefighters for doing “incredibly well” after putting out a chip pan fire while his family escaped unhurt.

The crew from East Ham station arrived at the Victorian terraced house in Brooks Road, Plaistow, in the early hours of yesterday morning (Wed) to find that the man and his partner, along with three young children, had all got out safely after fat in a chip pan had caught fire inside.

But firefighters are warning only to take matters into your own hands if you feel “confident” about what to do after too many people got injured trying to tackle chip pan fires.

The family was also saved by their fire alarm, which started ringing when a pan left with oil on their electrical hob caught fire, according to fire fighters.

Crew manager Adam Stone said: “It is believed someone switched the electrical hub on by mistake, the heat from the pan then caught fire, that’s all it takes.

“The man managed to put the fire out with a damp tea towel, which saved him and him family from getting hurt and prevented a lot of damage to the property.

“He did incredibly well. But we don’t really recommend this kind of action any longer unless people feel confident and know what they are doing. Too many people got hurt chucking water over a fire and causing it to turn into a fire ball. So if you are not sure what to do the best think is to shut the door, get out and call the fire brigade.”

The fire brigade were called to the incident at 6.30am, but only had to “damp down” after the fire had already been put out.

To arrange a home fire safety visit by fire fighters visit www.london-fire.gov.uk/HomeFireSafetyVisit.asp or call 0800 284428.