23 March 2009

Firefighters led an elderly woman to safety this morning after a kitchen fire in her sheltered accommodation flat in Milton Keynes.

A crew from Bletchley was called to Buckland Lodge, Buckland Drive, Netherfield, at 6.31am. Bin bags and a cereal box near her electric cooker caught fire after she put a pan of milk on to warm.

Firefighters helped her to the communal lounge, where she was checked over by a paramedic. They dealt with the fire and ventilated the flat.

Kitchen safety advice

• When cooking, take care if you’re wearing loose clothing as it can easily catch fire.
  
  
• Keep electrical leads, tea towels, dishcloths and other flammable items away from the cooker and hob.
  
  
• Never leave children alone in the kitchen.
  
  
• Keep matches, lighters and saucepan handles where children can’t reach them.
  
  
• Fit a safety catch on the oven door.
  
  
• Keep the over, hob, toaster and grill clean - a build-up of fat, crumbs or grease can easily catch fire.
  
  
• Don’t use matches or lighters to light gas cookers – use a spark device, which you can buy from hardware stores.
  
  
• Don’t leave pans on the hob when you're not around. Take them off the heat if you have to leave the kitchen.
  
  
• Angle saucepan handles so they don’t stick out from the hob, or over a naked flame.
  
  
• Don’t put anything that is made of metal or is metallic inside a microwave oven.
  
  
• When you have finished cooking, make sure you switch off the oven and hob.