Yorkshire puddings spark kitchen blaze

Apr 16 2009 By Russell Butt

The damaged oven at the side of the house

A family had a lucky escape when a kitchen fire interupted their Easter roast dinner.

The Jackson family, from Clandon Avenue, Egham, had to evacuate their home after an electrical fault caused the oven to catch fire while roast dinner was cooking at around 4.30pm.

Firefighters from Staines and Egham were on the scene in minutes and four firefighters using breathing apparatus and a hose reel entered the kitchen and spent an hour bringing the flames under control.

"It was my Yorkshire puds," said homeowner, Ian Jackson, "They were in the oven when it started smoking, then smoking more and more and I turned the oven off, looked underneath it and saw flames coming from underneath, then it caught fire.

"It looked like just a small fire to start with, but then it shot out the side of the oven."

Accountant, Mr Jackson, 42, immediately called the fire brigade who arrived in a few minutes, then made sure his wife, daughter, daughter's friend and grandson were all out of the house.

"I was supposed to be cooking for 11 people," added Mr Jackson, "But it in the end we had to take it all round to someone else's house and finish off the roast there."

No one was hurt during the blaze but the kitchen work surfaces and area surrounding the oven were severely burned and now the family are left hunting for a new oven.

After making the kitchen safe again, fire officers distributed fire safety leaflets to neighbouring properties, offering free safety checks. According to figures from Surrey Fire & Rescue, hobs, grills and ovens were the top three causes of kitchen fires in Surrey from 2007-2008, causing 182 incidents.

Community Fire Safety Manager, Paula Hartwell said: “It is vital you look after your white goods and kitchen appliances by keeping them clean and having them regularly serviced.

“We routinely attend fires that are the result of mechanical faults with kitchen appliances so we recommend you switch them off and unplug them when not in use and avoid using them late at night.”