: Dumfries crews to show chip pan danger
Firefighters will provide a powerful display of the danger posed by chip pan fires for shoppers in Dumfries on Saturday (22 February).
Traditional chip pans are a clear hazard and have been responsible for countless fires over decades, claiming lives and causing both devastating injuries and lifelong emotional trauma.
Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) crews know how quickly chip pan fires develop and engulf a kitchen, so firefighters from Dumfries Community Fire Station will stage a controlled demonstration on the town’s High Street.
Watch Manager Jason Gardiner said: “With traditional chip pans there’s always a high risk of fire and the consequences can be tragic.
“Even small fires within the home can quickly spread and threaten lives, but chip pan fires burn with a ferocity that can instantly engulf a room with intense heat, flames and smoke.
“We want any Dumfries and Galloway residents who still use old-fashioned chip pans to move to modern electric fryers, which have safety switches to cut them off and stop them from overheating and catching fire.”
Most house fires begin in the kitchen and SFRS officers are eager for the public to recognise the risks and take action to prevent fires starting.
Anyone who does use a chip should never have it more than one-third full or use it when they have been drinking, taking drugs, or are feeling tired.
Extreme care should always be taken and only dry food – not wet or covered in ice – should ever be placed in a chip pan.
Watch Manager Gardiner added: “By putting on a demonstration in Dumfries we can let the public see for themselves how much of a threat kitchen fires pose to homes and anyone in them.
“It only takes a second for a fire to start so no cooking appliance
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