Man burns foot in chip pan fire

The man removed the pan, which had caught fire after being left unattended on the hob at a house in York Road, Hartlepool, but dropped it due to the sheer heat.

Fire chiefs say the man, thought to have been in his 40s, had just got out of the bath when the incident happened so his foot was bare and he suffered a “very nasty burn” after spilling the pan’s contents.

They say the incident happened months after they were called to a previous fire at the property.

Crew manager at Stranton Fire Station, Steve Kitching, said the kitchen was still showing signs of damage from when crews attended a blaze at the house around three months ago.

He said during the previous incident a grill had been left unattended and sparked a fire, causing fire and smoke damage to the room.

Mr Kitching added: “We had a few stern words with the owner, especially after the last incident.

“It’s happened before and they need to get the message.

“We said last time if you have a chip pan fire, don’t pick it up, don’t go in the room, call us.”

He said around 10 people from the property had made their way outside following Saturday night’s incident.

But he added they were alerted by fire safety alarms that were only fitted following a home safety visit after the previous fire.

Mr Kitching said the pan had been left unattended by another member of the household and the burns victim had removed the pan.

The fire was out when fire crews arrived at around 10.30pm on Saturday.

Two crews spent around half an hour at the scene.

Firefighters gave the man first aid before an ambulance arrived to take him to hospital.

He was treated and discharged after one-and-a-half hours.